Christmas Nightmare
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: It is after the Winter War, and it is now truely winter. Gin is supposed to have a second chance, but then it seems that he completly throws it away, and it is Hitsugaya Toshiro that is sent after him, only to find reality scewed...
1. Christmas Wish

_Disclaimer – I do not own Bleach. Sequel to both __Admiration__ and __Sweet, Sweet Child__. Contains spoilers for current chapters in Japan, not to mention, a few theoretical ideas of what might happen, that might prove false._

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Christmas Wishes~**

In Soul Society, the winter that was supposed to bring forth the war finally came, and Christmas was creeping around slowly. While it wasn't a tradition that those in Japan traditionally celebrated, it had seeped into the culture, and eventually that of a few of the Seireitei came to celebrate it year to year. For some reason, after having to deal with Aizen, it seemed as if this was a good way to celebrate, to attempt to take away the pain.

The small taicho of the tenth division though, never really thought about the matter, but didn't mind the subject when it was broached by those around him, nor did he mind getting Hinamori and Matsumoto something every year, as they were in truth like family. He also got his grandmother something, even though she really never knew what the reason for him giving her a gift was, as she had no recollection of having Christmas in her youth, it was rather that new of a tradition.

While there had not come to be any replacements for the captains that had betrayed Soul Society, there was the fact that none of the other captains had been lost, due to Inoue Orihime's ability to heal, and restore to the original state of things. This had meant that things in truth had also come to calm down somewhat, even though there was still a lot of pain to get through, and to get over. And that was why he was in truth in the office today.

It used to be that he would complain to Matsumoto about her getting her job done, and getting her share of the paperwork finished. However, there was the fact that now that the war was finished, there was also less of an influx of the work that had been there before. And there was also the fact that Rangiku was in truth one of the few still dealing with the problems with her relationship with the traitors. He thus choose to give her a little bit of leeway.

He was taking a small break, going off into his dream world and actually relaxing for once, when Matsumoto came into the room, full of cheer for once, which seemed to be less frequent then it used to be, but he really couldn't blame her, as forgiving Gin was going to possibly be a hard one. He glanced up from his work as he suddenly felt himself embraced in one of her hugs. "Matsumoto…"

"Nee… taicho… all I did was hug you! You looked so cute there, staring out the window, and so nice and relaxed. There aren't many times people get to see you in such a mood where you're not giving off a cold aura, but a warm one," she whispered into her ear.

Trying not to mention a certain someone, or bring him to mind, he choose to sidestep the whole matter, and bring up something else. "It is actually snowing outside… you'll be sure to wear something warm?"

"You really shouldn't worry taicho!" Matsumoto grinned and headed over to her desk to sit down. "I know I tend to be down in the dumps lately, but truth of the matter is, I can still take care of myself. It is cute though when…"

"Matsumoto!" the small boy turned and glared at her, his cheeks flushing a little with embarrassment.

"Oh… I forgot… cute is one of those taboo words…" Matsumoto sighed.

"No… forget it Matsumoto… I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did." The small taicho picked up his brush and began to write some more on the paper work.

"Is taicho actually procrastinating?" His lieutenant couldn't help but smile.

"Well… it is nice out today, and the work load isn't as heavy as it was a few months ago," the small boy commented. "So… why are you in a good mood today? Did you enjoy drinking with your drinking buddies last night?"

"Ehh…" Matsumoto became quite, and then glanced out the window.

This caused two teal eyes to suddenly turn and stare at her, watching as her mood darkened, much like he had found her when Gin had disappeared on them. "Did I say something wrong Matsumoto?"

"No… I was just thinking…" the woman stated.

"That isn't your strong suit…" the small boy started.

Matsumoto had to of course glare at him and interrupt. "Taicho, that was mean."

"I didn't finish, so it isn't fare of you to come down on me. I was saying that thinking isn't your strong suit, unless it is the really deep kind, with some sort of… insightful thought in there... now that I think of it, I can't explain it in words…" Toshiro muttered irritably at not being able to express what he wanted to.

"No… I get what you're saying. I was just thinking about how to tell you about… something… without you saying you won't go… or telling me that it is rather childish…" the woman smiled.

"Excuse me?" two teal eyes looked at her startled. "Please tell me it isn't another one of your trips to the bath house? If you were my biological mother, Matsumoto, it wouldn't be a big deal, except… you aren't…"

"I… so, it wasn't because the lady called you a child that really upset you?" the strawberry blond woman smiled.

"Well, that was bothersome in its own way… but saying… what you did… oh never mind. What is it that you have planned now?" the white haired taicho remained bent over his work.

"It isn't really my idea… more of Ichigo and the others from the living world's idea. They want to have a Christmas party, to help relieve some of the… from the war…" Matsumoto muttered. "I'll do the paper work, if you'll come taicho…"

"Don't worry… I'll get the paperwork done and I'll go… you don't need to worry about it…" Toshiro shook his head. It was the least he could do for her, because even though she was in a good mood, he could see there was pain in her eyes.

"Ehh… well, if you don't go for that idea… Karin might be there… hold on… you said that you would go without me doing anything?" Matsumoto suddenly became confused, and then hopped up to go feel his forehead.

"I'm fine, Rangiku-san…" the boy muttered. "True, normally I wouldn't give in easily, but… you are looking forward to me going, and you needs something… to keep you mind off certain things. Now, why exactly did you bring up Kurosaki's sister to try to convince me to come? I mean, I doubt she would be there, considering her brother doesn't realize how much she knows…"

"Taicho… I thought you liked her…" the woman sighed, going back to sit down behind her desk.

"Like her… as in a friend. I guess so. I mean, before Kurosaki came around, the only friend I had was… Sojiro… I mean… Momo and you are like family," Toshiro attempted to not look her in the face.

"No… taicho. I meant that you liked her more than a friend…" Rangiku pushed the issue a bit further.

"Matsumoto…" Toshiro paused at this and closed his eyes. "I don't get why you think that I like her."

"You stalked her in the real world…" Matsumoto stated.

"I did not…" came the expected protest.

"Never mind… perhaps you're not old enough to understand yet…"

This caused his head to shoot up to protest again, yet he had the chance to see Hinamori come in, and because that happened, he felt it best to suddenly close the subject. She gave him a small grin. "I know that… it is… it is…"

"Lieutenant Hinamori… what exactly are you excited about?" Toshiro groaned.

"Well, the Christmas party…" the older girl smiled.

"If you are here to try to get me to go, I've already decided that I am, so don't worry about it," the small boy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"No… I know that Rukia and Orihime were the ones who personally asked me to go to the party, but Izuru-san invited me to go with him," the girl smiled.

"Oh… so… like a date!" Matsumoto suddenly became excited, and winked at her small captain, who had a rather shocked look on his face.

"Ehh… I don't think so… just as friends… I mean…" Momo's foot suddenly began rubbing the floor.

"Hinamori Fukutaicho, I think it is supposed to be a date…" Toshiro suddenly spoke up, rather bewildered that Kira had finally found the courage to ask her.

"Ehh… no… Kira doesn't like me that way…" Again the foot moved nervously on the floor.

"Did he ask to just go as friends?" Matsumoto suddenly asked.

"He said, if… if I just wanted to go as friends, then that would be fine with him," Hinamori stated.

Suddenly, the second of the tenth division laughed, as her small taicho rolled his eyes. "He finally gets the courage to ask her out, and he says something like that…"

This caused his childhood friend's eyes to go wide, and Matsumoto to laugh harder. "Taicho… you said that out loud!"

"Nani!" the small boy glanced at Hinamori's somewhat horrified face. "Ehh… Hinamori… Kira has had a crush on you since academy…"

"But… there is no way…" again with the denial.

"I think… and this might just be me, with some amount of experience under my belt, compared to the two of you combined… that Kira was possibly attempting to make Hinamori less uncomfortable, and trying not to rush into a relationship, as he doesn't wish to hurt her feelings," the older woman laughed.

"I could have sworn it was because he was afraid that Momo would say no to an actual date," came the rather grumpy reply.

"Shiro-chan! I would not have! I just can't imagine why Kira would like me of all people!" The younger of the two females puffed out her cheeks.

"Ne… ?" Toshiro looked her straight in the eye. "It's Hitsugaya Taicho, and yes… I've noticed that he's liked you since I met him. And I approve of him… to say…"

"Why do you have to approve of him!" This statement caused Momo to become a little miffed.

"Because, we grew up together in the same house, which makes me the closest thing you have to a brother, which means it is my job to make sure that no guy like… like… Kyoraku Taicho… gets near you…" the white haired boy's two teal eyes had a slightly menacing look in them. However, both females burst out laughing, catching him off guard. "What is so funny?"

"Taicho…" Matsumoto shook her head.

"I better be going. I hope your Christmas wishes get fulfilled this year!" Hinamori chirped, turning and leaving the room.

"Christmas… wish…" at the mention of this, Matsumoto's eyes glazed over.

"Rangiku-san…" Toshiro's voice suddenly filled with concern, knowing that she had slipped back into her depression.

"Ehh… I was just thinking about how my Christmas wish will never be filled…" the woman stated.

"If it's any consolation, neither will mine," the small boy stated.

"Taicho… don't be silly. This is one place that being so young has its advantages, doesn't it?" the woman smiled. "What is your Christmas wish?"

"I am not telling, because I know you want to try and make it come true, but it is one of those things that is impossible, Matsumoto. It's just something that I wished for since I was really little." Somehow, she had managed to put him into a dark mood too.

"So then, I take it, it isn't finally being able to make friends?" Rangiku sighed, leaning back. "I bet you can guess mine…"

"Do you want me too, because I feel that it is a subject that I've been avoiding unless you want it brought up," A sudden change in her aura told him that she was going into a rant.

"Well, why shouldn't I be mad, with all that he has done. And all he got was basically a slap on the wrist, stuck in the jail cell until Yamamoto decides he has spent enough time there. He abandoned all of us taicho… tried killing you. His betrayal dug deep… I thought we were close… I guess that is the best way to describe my Christmas wish," came the bitter tone.

"So, it does deal with Gin," the small taicho shook his head.

"I wish that we could be close like we were before," the woman sighed.

"Ne… maybe if you go visit him…" Toshiro glanced up from his paper work, hoping she wouldn't try to bite his head off for what he just said.

"No… taicho, the wedge that drove us apart, it started being wedged in a long, long time ago. I just didn't realize it, until it was too late," Matsumoto closed his eyes. "But… I wish… that. I wish that I could know that he wouldn't run again, that I could trust him."

"Time?" came Toshiro's response.

Only to have her laugh. "I shouldn't have brought you into this. It is just… Gin and my relationship has always been complex, even though it has always been broken. I'm going to go see what I can find for the game they call white elephant…"

"All right Matsumoto…" However, to the small taicho, it didn't seem right to leave things the way they were.

**M**

That was in fact, why he ended up outside of Gin's cell that day, bringing a small Christmas present with him. Why his mind came up with the idea, he had no clue, but someone had to start with somewhere. He watched as the man sat there, staring at the wall, leafing through the book he had in his hands. "Hello, Shiro-chan."

"How could you tell it was me?" came the irritated reply.

"Because, you have a very distinct aura, that I can feel even with my powers sealed," the man stated, refusing to look at the small boy.

"Do you disdain me that much?" Toshiro stated firmly.

"No… your friend Momo-chan was nice enough to give me this book for Christmas," Gin stated, causing the small boy to wince. "Don't worry… I am not trying to trick her like Aizen did. She is the one who approached me. It was her way of healing from all the bad things that happened. She simply came to forgive me, no strings attached."

"Even though you tried to kill her and me?" the small boy glared at the man, his two teal eyes darkening.

"As I told her, the only one I ever tried to kill was her, so she couldn't bother to try to forgive me for trying to kill you." It was then that Toshiro realized the man was without his customary smile.

"How can you say that," two teal eyes were furious that Gin could make such comments.

"Because I knew you would dodge, child," came the humming reply. "So what brings you here? I expected Ran before you, and nowhere near this close time wise for either one of you."

"Ran… Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku is deeply aggrieved by what you did. What I have against you is just a small trifle in comparison," Toshiro stated.

At this, Gin glanced up, his two eyes opening up, revealing pale teal eyes, rather than the red one that Toshiro had come to know. "A trifle in comparison to her. Then again, you don't know everything, and don't realize that you out of all people should be the one angriest at me for what I've done over the years."

"Don't they say that those who are young, and haven't experienced the atrocities that their elders have, tend to be more forgiving?" the logic was there.

"Shiro-chan, please get to the point of why you are here?" Gin stated.

"I decided to give you a gift for Christmas, for Ran's sake… and not the kind where she is supposed to give you one, but the kind where it is one to attempt to make sure you don't wound her heart again." Two small hands slid the box across the cell floor.

Gin picked it up, and opened the box, pulling out a silver locket. He snapped it open to look at the picture of Rangiku that Toshiro had put in there. "Now, chibi-taicho… what exactly is your logic behind this?"

"My theory is, if you carry that on you, you might remember to think about Ran's feelings, and not do something that will hurt them again." The small boy's hands gripped the cell bars.

"Your logic is slightly flawed, little one…" Gin stated. "And might I ask why there isn't a picture of you in here too?"

"Ehh…" This suddenly caused Toshiro's face to suddenly pale. "What are you, a sick perverted pedophile!'

"Never mind. Please leave before I say something I regret," came the sharp reply.

"I've heard myself called names before…" However, Toshiro found himself interrupted.

"These are things I don't think you're ready to hear, and that would hurt who you currently think you are, the concept of who you are," Gin snapped. "Leave… before I make a racket that will get me sedated."

"Fine… please… just think about Rangiku. I can't think of anything that would be worth hurting her like this…" the small taicho stated, turning to leave. He now, even more than before, couldn't understand why he had even tried to be nice.

"Oh… and it is the twentieth today, isn't it… happy birthday," Gin stated, causing shivers to run down the child's spine.

"What is the point, when that is a lie?" came the grumbled response.

_Author's note - At the time of writing this, it is still unknown who will live or die. Also, some more of the theoretical stuff comes into play in later chapters. Plan on getting all of it done before Christmas! :)_


	2. Broken Dreams

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Broken Dreams~**

To say that visiting with Gin didn't leave a sour note in the pit of the small taicho's stomach, that would have been a lie. As he walked back to the tenth division, he couldn't help but feel regretful about having made the decision to do what he did. It felt like he had made the situation worse, not to mention, he felt like he had done something wrong.

He, the child genius, also felt stupid for trying to get Ichimaru to see what seemed logical, with a man who thought completely illogically. There was in truth many a time he had wondered in the past whether his lieutenant's child friends was in truth sane, and there was the possibility, Yamamoto had allowed Gin to get off with simply staying in jail for that very reason. The betrayal happened to throw out all that the shingami believed in.

There was also the fact that being around Gin had caused his heart to beat in his throat. Many had claimed that they had odd sensations around the man, like for example; the sifth division taicho's sister happed to feel like snakes were chocking her. He had most definitely felt uncomfortable when he was around the man, not a matter of not feeling safe, but it almost as if it seemed as if everything were a bunch of lies.

The man mentioning, even insinuating that Toshiro's picture should have been in the locket, bothered him too, for some reason. The most logical conclusion that had come to his mind was that Gin was a pedophile, and he had happened to voice this, thankfully so that only that one person could hear him. Something made him feel as if everything was simply going to get twisted around.

As he was walking, he couldn't help but find himself, like Rangiku, becoming more and more depressed over the whole matter, to the point that he wasn't watching where he was going, so he ended up crashing into someone as he went, causing them to drop everything to the ground. This dropping of items to the ground made it so that suddenly, he was in the world again, and scrambling to help to person pick things up.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to crash into you. I wasn't paying attention," he muttered, picking the items up.

"You not paying attention Hitsugaya Taicho?" The female voice caused him to startle and look up, staring straight into the face of the lieutenant of the eighth division. "That isn't usual. Is something bothering you?"

"Don't tell Matsumoto, but I went to see…" he paused, letting the bile taste in his mouth dissipate, as he tried to forget his awkward discomfort. "I went to see the former taicho of the third division."

"I see…" Nanao suddenly had a concerned look on her face, and she pushed her glasses up. "I can't imagine that one actually went well…"

"No… I also well admit that I did something that may have been very stupid, but at the time when I came up with the idea, I thought it was a good one," the small taicho stated, grimacing at the idea of Rangiku finding out. However, he knew that Matsumoto's best friend wasn't a gossiper, and she tended to have the knack, when something needed to be said, to go and phrase things in ways that were not likely to hurt the other person's feelings.

"What exactly did you do? Not try to convince Gin that he needs to beg Ran for forgiveness, because that won't happen in a million years. He cut her deep," the woman took the things from his arms.

"The idea was to give him something so that he would, before he even thinks of doing something like he did to betray Soul Society, to think about Rangiku's feelings when he does such bad things." His two teal eyes revealed his frustrations.

"I see… what exactly did you give him…" the woman asked.

"A locket with her picture in it…" the boy muttered.

"That… possibly was, no offence meant by this, one of your worst ideas ever. I can promise you, I won't tell her that you pulled this stunt, as even if I could think of something to say, she would still somehow take it the wrong way," Nanao frowned.

"I kinda figured that out afterwards. Hey… should I be concerned that he…" he paused short of asking her is he should worry about what Gin had mentioned about the locket, as he felt something weird. Suddenly, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. "That's weird… the weather wasn't set to snow…"

"Are you sure that it isn't your powers?" The eighth division fukutaicho watched as the flakes began to stick to her glances.

"No…" The small white haired taicho narrowed his eyes, as he suddenly caught whiff of a certain scent. "Is that… I don't know what that smell is. It is almost… I don't know, the best way to describe it is Christmas like."

Nanao grimaced at the sudden odd phraseology of the young taicho. "I never imagined something like that to come from your mouth. You usually use bigger, and more precise vocabulary."

"Yes, well… the only thing I am familiar with Christmas about is the giving of gifts… everything else is skewed…" the small boy stated, something definitely bothering him about the whole situation.

"I would have to say that, well… you don't know about Santa Clause?" Nanao suddenly shook her head in disbelief, as most of the younger shingami knew about that tradition.

"Oi…" this caused the small taicho to turn and glare at her, his eyes narrowed. "I am not a little kid."

"Yes, but look at my taicho and Ukitake taicho… even Yamamoto knows about that…" Nanao shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't believe in silly things like that, getting wishes granted by an old man who lives up in the Arctic, when I of all people should know how hard it is to survive in the coldest of cold. It's completely ridiculous, to tell you the truth," he grumbled, then watched her shocked look of horror. "Look… I avoid saying such things to Yachiru… I bite my tongue."

"Is that because you care about her feelings or because you don't want her to bite your head like she does Ikakku," the woman had her turn to glare at him.

"The only time she bit me was when she was teething, or she was losing her baby teeth, and I stuck my fingers in her mouth…" he stated, a completely serious look on his face.

Nanao quickly interrupted, her face twisting in horror. "Why the hell would you do something so stupid!"

"Because, her mouth hurt, and I was able to form ice on my fingers and stick it in…" Toshiro scratched his head. "I know it wasn't one of my best ideas, but…"

"No kidding…"

"…but my point is, I am careful about her feelings not because I am afraid of her, but because she is younger than me, and it is my job to look out for her, not in the sense of her taking care of herself on the battle field, but other aspects…" came the firm reply.

"I see…" Nanao shook her head. "Hitsugaya Taicho, I'd be best be going now… ahh… taicho and Ukitake would like to know what you would like for Christmas…"

"Office Supplies, or something to make Matsumoto do her work," he commented, causing her to face fault, as she never really got how he could be so adult like all the time, yet be as young as he was. That was to her, who had the chance to be a child, a scary thought.

**M**

Gin was in his cell, fiddling with the locket, thinking about the fact that the small taicho had really gone out of his way to bring such a thing to him. "_He really doesn't get it…_"

"_That is because you haven't explained it to him,_" his zampaktuo hummed.

"_That would be because of the fact that I don't think he is grown up enough to be ready to handle me telling him the truth about everything. And explaining that I simply will do anything to keep those I care about safe, even if it means hurting their feelings, or getting them to turn their backs on me…_"

"_I would say…_" a third voice hummed, even though both were supposed to be sealed away. "_I would say the truth is, you're guarding his feelings right now, because you don't want to admit that you are guilty of not just abandoning Ran-chan, but Shiro-chan too_."

Gin of course, choose to ignore both voices, still fiddling with the locket in his hand. The small taicho's comments had in some ways been funny, considering the fact that Gin knew the truth of the whole matter. However, he happened to know that the white haired child found the whole matter to be unsettling. In addition, there was also the fact that Hitsugaya might actually go and tell Rangiku that he thought Gin was a pedophile.

He had to admit that if the small taicho told Ran about what he felt, Matsumoto would definitely come and see him. However, he would not get a word in edge wise, not to mention she might get mad to the point that she cursed him out. The likely hood of him explaining anything to her, the fact was it would make it even less likely to happen.

A noise came from the window, causing him to glance up. Snowflakes fluttered through the opening, and yet, he knew that this wasn't the small taicho's abilities coming into play, but someone else, especially since there was the Christmassy smell of pine, that filled his nostrils, and the rietsu was otherwise hidden from everyone around them.

His pale teal eyes narrowed as some sort of ivy spindled through the window, and grasped the bars. Yet, the plant didn't smell at all like one would expect of ivy, and might have been where the pine smell was coming from. He snapped the locket shut, his frown not yet retaining its usual look, as the depression for once actually ran deep.

He knew better than to peek out the window, as the ivy ropes might pull the wall down on him. However, something, two icy blue eyes peaked through the window, seeming almost soulless, and with those two eyes was pale blond hair. "He's here Holly…"

"Holly and Ivy… how original…" Gin smirked, suddenly gleaning his usual persona that he presented to people. The person that was floating outside of the window disappeared, and a creaking noise could be heard, then the wall bursting out loud came to his ears, as debris suddenly scattered. He glanced at the wall. "I have no plans on escaping… and if you are here to kill me, simply go ahead… it isn't as if I can put up a fight."

A female Arrancar stood outside the window, narrowing her eyes at him. She had Christmas red hair, and silver painted lips. Her nerdy glasses were only part of her overall clothing that went and took gaudy to the extreme. "I am not going to give you the choice in whether or not you are coming with us, and I most definitely am not here to kill you."

" I don't want to play games with… something dressed for Christmas that has no concept of what the meaning is," Gin stated, referring to the two holly sprigs attached to her short hair behind her ears.

"Now… aren't you someone to talk… consider my little friend and I to be spirits of Christmas…" the woman stated.

"If you've read Dickens, you know that there are three…" Gin sighed, turning back to fiddling with his locket so that he opened it, the only side visible being the one with Ran in it, the other covered by his hand.

"The third was silent… consider me past, Ivy present, and you… simply put, future… as you are the future of our plans…" the woman smirked.

"I already told you, not exactly in these words," Gin's eyes opened up, flashing red, and the locket clicked shut. He carefully hung it around his neck, and looked away. "I am not going to leave this place. Kill me or be gone."

"Except that we need your help revenging Aizen," the woman stated.

"My loyalties to him had nothing to do with trust or like." Suddenly, the woman swung out, her hand scratching his face as she slapped him.

"But his dream was your dream, was it not?" the corner of the woman's mouth twisted up, her gaudy makeup pulling at her face. "You don't have a choice in the matter either."

"And what exactly are you going to do to make me do what I don't want to do…" The former captain of the third division tried speaking in circles, to buy some time, or to find out more information.

"I don't see why you even bother holding onto those few sappy feelings you ever had. It isn't as if she ever gave you something." The name of the Arrancar was in truth laughable.

"I am sorry, but I really don't need you telling me that I have or haven't gotten something from my relationship with Ran-chan. You don't know my life, so you don't know what I happen to have gotten, or what so called sappy feelings that you have." His words suddenly caused the woman to laugh.

"Don't mock me… she has completely ignored you… you have nothing to lose from me," the woman gave another sneer.

"Holly… we need to hurry…" came the other voice Gin had heard before, quite child like… or perhaps it was a lack of worldly knowledge.

"I still think it is funny that Arrancar are all dressed up for the Holidays… when I know that you don't celebrate it." He too had his own smirk, completely emotionless when he wanted.

"I will tell you this… I doubt that you will be able to say no," the woman stated, her aura dark, and very unseasonal. "As Ivy said… we really don't have time for you to argue with us…"

**M**

Back at the tenth division, Matsumoto was not doing her work, though she had made a small attempt. Her thoughts just happened to travel some more. Something told her that her small taicho had been up to something when he had left, but it was really hard to say what he was doing. He could be as conniving as Gin, when he wanted to, but there seemed to be a softer mood to his pranks, at least in her opinion.

She could say that, because Nanao had, on multiple occasions, complained about the fact that her taicho had… as her best friend pointed out, a rather morbid, awkward mind. Rangiku had to, in some ways agree, but she also knew that Toshiro didn't realize this himself. It use to be that she could argue the same with Gin, but she now felt that he had known exactly how sinister he had been.

As she was thinking about her small taicho, she saw him slip into the room. She glanced outside to see the snow falling, then back at her small taicho's face. Her eyes narrowed, as soon as she saw the gloomy look in his eyes. While his eyes normally had a way of distancing people from him, they always had a fire to them, yet right now, it was obvious his mood was down.

"I didn't put you into a bad mood, did I taicho?" his lieutenant asked.

"Ehh… no…" he glanced up, suddenly getting that usual guilty look on his face, indicating he had possibly done something he knew, or now knew, that he shouldn't have. Of course, there was always the chance that he was feeling guilty for something that he should most definitely not feel guilty for.

"All right… what did you just go do…" Matsumoto took the tone of a mother with him.

"Ehh… what makes you think I've done anything majorly important… or that you need to know about," the corners of his mouth twitched as he tried giving her an innocent look, which was never believable.

"Because you have that look on your face…" Matsumoto stated.

"What look…" again, his mouth twitched.

"Oh… you know, that look," Rangiku turned her head to look out the window. "Say… is it snowing because you are in a poor mood because of whatever you did?"

"No… it doesn't match my rietsu pattern. There isn't even a rietsu pattern to it, that I can discern. But what bothers me is the smell…" the small taicho slipped off into his own little world, lost in thought, trying to figure out what was going on. Thinking, and being upset about things tended to put him into a position that he might actually spill the info she wanted.

"So, what were you out doing?" she hammered out her question.

"I visited Gin…" came the straight face reply.

"Taicho…"

At Rangiku's stern, not to mention, irritated tone, he suddenly turned, gulping as he did so. "Sorry… I just thought… I don't know what I was thinking! I feel really stupid after speaking with him, trying… trying…"

"Taicho… you don't have to try to fix things between me and Gin. I admit it is sweet of you to try, however, I have to say, it really is not needed, and I need you to stop. Obviously… it left you in a bad mood," Matsumoto sighed.

"Ne… Rangiku… you do know what day it is today, right?" came an unusual question.

Rangiku blinked a couple of times. "It is your birthday…"

"_Which you were avoiding wishing him, because it is also such a bittersweet day for you…_" Haineko purred.

"It's just… you always seem to remember everyone else's, but you seem to avoid mine for some reason as another. Hinamori always bugs you about it…" the small taicho returned to his work.

"I thought you didn't care for your birthday, taicho," Matsumoto sighed.

"You were the one who told me to trust the person who told me what my birthday is… that would have been Granny," Toshiro sighed. "It's just… when…"

"Taicho, what happened between you and Gin," his lieutenant suddenly became concerned, as her small taicho was purposely trying to avoid a certain subject.

"Well, he's the only one who brought up my birthday today, so far," the small boy stated. "I felt like something was twisting my stomach, not to mention… I felt like it was all a lie."

"Look… taicho… that is exactly why I would like you to avoid speaking with him again, unless you are ordered too," the strawberry blond sighed. "Gin has always been a hard person to deal with."

"I was hoping to make things better…" came his reply. Before Rangiku could retort at the stupidly of that, the clacker alarm went off. Two hell butterflies suddenly appeared through the window.

Rin's voice chimed out. "Attention! Attention! Ichimaru Gin is escaping from the cell! All shingami assemble!"

_Author's note - About Toshiro calling his birthday a lie the last chapter. He was from the Rukongai, where people don't know if their birthday is necessarily their real birthday. As for the two Arrancar names, I know that they aren't usual… but I figure that they fit for a Christmas fanfic…_


	3. Heartache

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Heartache~**

Rin's voice chimed out from the two hell butterflies, echoing as it did so. "Attention! Attention! Ichimaru Gin is escaping from the cell! All shingami assemble!"

Both of the two highest ranked members of the tenth division gave each other startled looks, their eyes showing the fact that they felt that their trust was yet again betrayed. Matsumoto narrowed her eyes at the small taicho, and nodded her head at him. "It is a matter of putting personal feelings aside, taicho… so don't worry about me. I figured, if he ever betrayed me again, I would personally kill him."

"Rangiku… with the fact that he has been hollowfied, you wouldn't stand a chance at all," came the small white haired taicho's frustrated response. "And you can't count on him not wishing to harm you, like what he did when he tried to kill Hinamori Fukutaicho. I know that you are at a captain's level, disincluding the fact of bankai, but still… I spoke to him… he doesn't care!"

"Taicho… that is even more of a reason that I need to take care of him, so please… let me do this," Rangiku glared at her small taicho as he stood in her way.

"I refuse to let you do this on your own, we don't need to lose you!" Toshiro's turquoise teal eyes had desperation to them.

Matsumoto gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry, I didn't plan on doing that…"

At that, Hitsugaya stepped aside, and allowed her to shunpoo away, allowing her to take the lead as he followed her to where they were in truth going to go. As the last place Gin had been was the jail cell, the best place to begin to look for him, or clues as to where he had gone, was to go to that place. That was the way the tenth division had always worked, even before Toshiro had become captains.

A soft snow was falling as they hurried along, and Matsumoto couldn't help but comment on this. "This isn't your rietsu causing this… does it have something to do with this mess?"

"Most likely, as I can tell when it is natural, and not natural, or so I would like to think. It was bothering me to a great extent of the matter," the boy muttered, suddenly shunpooing next to Matsumoto so that he could speak to her easier.

"So, there is the possibility that we are dealing with a hollow with ice powers. It spreads further than your storm, taicho… well you be fine?" the woman asked suddenly.

"It might be spread farther, but it is also softer. Nothing is icing over, and none of the snow is sticking, even though it has been going on for a few minutes," came his response. "Of course, I could be wrong… this is just a surmise. Matsumoto-san… please be prepared for something you might not want to know."

"I already know that," came the stern sigh. "I already told you, you don't need to worry about me, didn't I?"

It was at that point that they arrived at the jail area, and moved to where Gin's cell was, going from the outside, which confused Matsumoto. Toshiro glanced over, saw her confused face, and commented on why he had picked this route.

"From experience of my own powers, if the person were inside, the storm would have been contained inside that building. Yet it is outside, meaning that someone broke Ichimaru out from the outside. I assume that it wasn't him, as there is the fact that I see no point in assuming otherwise, as his powers were sealed by Yamamoto, and we wouldn't have this freak smelly storm if it weren't for someone showing up."

"Smart as always… though smelly isn't something I would expect you to use,"

"Fine, odorous…" the small taicho sighed, as they came to stand outside of the huge hole that was now a part of the building. Staring out at him was Byakuya and Renji, both with dark facial expressions, not to mention that their auras were filled with killing intent.

"Should the two of you be here, considering the relationship you two have with the criminal," the fifth division taicho commented, becoming stern with the two members of the tenth division.

"I never had any form of relationship with Ichimaru Gin, and I can guarantee, my lieutenant is setting her feelings aside. How to put it… she is not happy with him, and if he has truthfully betrayed her again, she plans on killing him, even if it means the help of others," Toshiro gave the man an icy glare.

"You say those words, almost as if there is a chance of the fact that he might not have betrayed us again," Renji stated, giving the small taicho a dirty look. "It seems Hitsugaya Taicho, that while your lieutenant's constitution is towards going against him, yours is not."

"Don't worry. I simply choose to go within the boundaries of logic. We know neither if he has betrayed again, nor if he has gone and … actually, I don't know what else it could be. But if it was anyone else, with the fact that we have had people who seem to have betrayed us, when they have not, it is safe to say that it is completely logical, Abarai."

"You made no sense at all… again," Renji sighed, suddenly scratching his head, and his eyes getting that funny, monkey like look on his face.

Toshiro on the other hand ignored him, and began to glance around, looking for details. He saw a few leftover strands of some sort of plant, attached to the window debris. As he reached down to touch the plant, he heard a tisking sound from nearby. "You should know, stupid child, not to touch things that you don't know anything about."

This caused the small taicho to glance up, glaring at the man. "Seriously…"

"Seriously… you should leave the gathering of specimens to me and my division. You are practically useless here," Mayuri laughed. "Nemu…."

"Hai," his assistant stated, stepping in, and scooping up the ivy and placing it into a container.

Byakuya felt the air, sensing for where the prisoner might have gone. "It is heavy, almost as if a person opened a portal to the real world here."

"But shingami can't do that, without it being tracked," Rangiku shook her head.

"I already told you, it was likely that someone else was involved," the small taicho folded his arms.

The shingami noble spoke again. "I would like to know what you were here earlier, to speak with the prisoner with."

"What… am I now a suspect yet again," the small taicho muttered. "You are so busy trying to find a scapegoat, that maybe you can't figure out why I was possibly here?"

"To take concern with the idea of feelings goes against your ideal, doesn't it?" Byakuya stated.

"As I said, I think the kid has some hesitation here," Renji stated, glaring at the small taicho with distaste. That was what happened when someone was as stubborn as him, and he happened to also graduate at the same time as the small taicho. To say the least, it might seem to someone with a lack of thinking, that Toshiro had gotten his position rather easily, or perhaps not.

"Be that as it may, I am sending Hitsugaya Taicho as the person to go to the living world to retrieve Gin," Yamamoto stated, coming out of nowhere with his lieutenant.

"But I even know that one can't go up alone against… he's turned into a monster," Matsumoto suddenly stated, letting it be known her disernation at sending the small taicho alone, especially going after a man that she didn't think she could trust anymore.

"I have my reasons for sending Hitsugaya… and there is the fact that there are allies in the living world," Yamamoto stated, his aura portraying that he didn't want to be argued with upon the subject matter.

"Hai… I'll prepare to leave at once," the small taicho stated, nodding his head at the commanding general.

**M**

Over Karakura town, a portal opened, and the female Arrancar stepped through, dragging with her, Gin by the ivy that bound his arms to his side. He glanced around, and not seeing her friend, he spoke up. "Your friends seems to be missing, and it isn't snowing… not to mention, I can feel your rietsu, which I really couldn't that well before."

"I sent her through the portal to a little bit of a different place that us, as that means that she will be able to come in and make a surprise attack, as for all anyone knows, it was just myself who had this plan going," the woman pushed on her glasses, glaring at the former shingami. "As for the snow, the portals and that snow is something that can only be done when the two of us are in the vicinity of each other. The snow is annoying, as it has no true effect that I can see."

"Why are you telling me this," Gin smirked, knowing full well the consequences of revealing too much of one's plans. "I've already told you, I don't want to help, so what is to stop me from telling them about that little plan of yours."

The woman than gave him a very Aizen like look of disgust. "You haven't figured out my powers yet, have you, fool…"

"And should I be worried," came the snarky reply.

Suddenly she held up her hand to his face, a vivid, not to mention creepy smile directed towards him. "Even though your powers are sealed, I can bring them out to their full potential."

"And what, pray, will stop me from killing you then and there?" Gin suddenly asked.

"To stop you from killing me… there are two results from what my powers can do, and either one would result in victory for myself," Holly waved her hand in front of his face. "I'll opt for the one where I make use of you against others…"

Gin frowned as a slight, reddish mist settled over his eyes. He opened his mouth, to say that this wasn't at all effecting him, however, that was until he found his fox mask forming over his face, the hollow mask he had gained due to Aizen's process of hollowfing his followers. This caused his smirk to leave, as he also felt his free will, and that of the other two that were part of his soul leaving. "Screw you… you have no right to do this…"

"When you became part of Aizen's alliance, not to mention an experiment, you lost all right to call yourself humane, or the rights that went along with that," the woman stated, as Gin found his vision covered in the veil, yet he could still see, as his body was forced from the viazards form, to the resurrected form. He was most defiantly losing control over his body. And if that was so, his greatest fear was that he would hurt those he cared most for, but even that seemed to be numb.

**M**

Isshin had been in his clinic, just getting ready to close down, when he suddenly found a familiar rietsu suddenly spiking out of control. Yuzu and Karin, who were helping him, seemed unphazed, that was until he got a look at the dark haired of the two girl's eyes. She too could sense that something was amiss. "Hey, Karin… since we aren't taking any more patients for the day, I leave the closing to you. It's a big responsibility, especially if this leaves time for Yuzu to go and work on the housework…"

"Ehh… sure dad…" the girl stated, watching him as he disappeared into what was known to be his sanctuary. There he popped a piece of soul candy into his mouth, and took off towards where he had sensed the disturbance. Something had been bothering him, as he knew that Gin had happened to be pardoned, and if his instinct had been correct, there was no way that young man would try betraying soul society again, not if it risked his life and freedom.

As he came close to his source, he tried to think about why he didn't sense his son or any of his friends responding to the change in spiritual pressure. However, it quickly occurred to him that the kids had gone into Tokyo, in order to buy some things for the Christmas party they were holding in a few days, which was their way of making it so that the pain that had happened earlier would have the chance of fading.

He arrived at the scene, far above the small town, up in the sky as he neared a female Arrancar, that was directing a beast of some sort. However, Isshin quickly realized from the dark aura that the kitsune like creature was releasing that this was Ichimaru Gin… as it couldn't be anyone else. His eyes went wide, with slight horror, as he saw the fox like creatures lips dripping with saliva. "Ichimaru… I thought with being out from _his _thumb, that you would be free…"

This caused the silver-lipped Arrancar to burst out in horrible laughing. "I'm sorry, but I have to say, he can't hear you old man… not in a way that he can respond to what you are talking about. And truth be told, all this talking… that is what led us to losing the war in the first place."

"What have you done to him," the former taicho of the tenth division growled. He felt bile coming up in his throat, thinking that Gin had, due to the fact he never had been able to run from the man's control once he got under it, was now stuck losing even more freedom than before.

"I basically forced him into his highest state, making it so that I can control him…" the woman laughed. "He's a pet once again, isn't that obvious. I mean, that is what Aizen thought of him, his little lap dog that would obey all his commands. Well, now he has to obey his commands again."

"You are sick," Isshin stated, however, talking stopped due to the fact that on a movement of her hand, the fox beast was directed at Isshin, attacking so that Isshin had to draw his zampaktuo, bringing it to clang against the canius creature's mouth, but also so that it simply blocked the bite. He noticed that a chain was still attached to his neck, some sort of locket attached to it. "Shit… Gin! Listen to me! Fight this! Find some way to break her control! Seriously, what about Ran-chan!"

"That woman! I saw her moping around Soul Society!" the Arrancar suddenly laughed. "She wants nothing to do with him, as his betrayal ran deep. That is his only tie in with all the goody-two-shoes!"

Isshin narrowed his eyes, continuing to parry the bites that came from Gin's hollowfied released form. Each step drew him backward, and he used his mind to come up with a way to get around the whole situation. As he was parrying the attacks, within all of their view, a gate to Soul Society opened up. Isshin cursed his luck, due to the fact that only a few, like Yamamoto knew that he was actually alive.

A voice came to his ears, extremely young, yet with a major amount of maturity to it. "Isshin-san Taicho?"

**M**

Hitsugaya Toshiro stepped through the gate, not at all expecting to have to instantly go into battle, however, he was at least prepared to reach for his sword, and lay his hand on it as the gate closed behind him. Hyorinmaru hummed in irritation, as they saw the scene in front of them, the only thing not familiar to him, the female that was dressed to full gaudiness, watching the fight between the two others on the scene.

Instantly, he recognized the two fighting, the full-blown hollow form of Ichimaru Gin, a monstrance fox that sent shivers down his spine, every time he thought of the twisting of Rangiku's feelings at seeing someone whom she had thought to be a good friend, becoming something completely different. In addition, to his utter surprise, causing him to freeze, was his former taicho, alive and well. "Isshin-san Taicho?"

"Shiro-chan! Move! Now is _not _the time to freeze up!" the former taicho called out, as he continued to defend off the attacks from the mind controlled fox.

However, before the small taicho could move, the female Arrancar moved behind him, and moved her hand in front of his eyes. "Shall I use my power on you too?"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Toshiro's two teal eyes narrowed.

"Hitsugaya-kun, get away from her!" Isshin called out, still having trouble fighting off his opponent. "She is controlling Gin! He didn't go through the change himself! He was forced too!"

"I have no use for a weak child, so I'll use my other aspect of my power on you," the woman cackled.

At that, the small boy felt a seethe of power flowing through his body, his heart misbeating due to the sudden change. To his utter shock, he glanced at his hand and saw that his Bankai was forming without him calling out to his zampaktuo. The woman moved to in front of him, a wicked grin on her face as the wings formed. "What the hell does taking me to my Bankai do?"

"Ehh… if I knew that you had that kind of power, I might have chosen to control you, but your abilities are also unstable, which makes the other ability much better for me to use," the woman laughed.

Suddenly, a shiver went through his body, as he felt his rietsu suddenly draining, and quickly, out of his control, and the snow began to fall down around him. "What the hell…"

"Ahh… so you're feeling what my abilities do… I either control the person, or I end up draining them, by sending them to their highest state…" the woman chuckled. "It is all a matter of power."

"I'll have to finish you off as soon as possible," the young boy hissed, suddenly taking his stance, to attack her.

"I think not… Ivy!" the woman called out.

Again, two teal eyes went wide, as he felt ivy wrapping around his arms and shoulders, and yanking back on his arms. The whole strain ended up causing him to let go of Hyorinmaru. He watched in shock as he saw the sword suddenly drop to the ground below, his horror growing. He attempted to get away, but the ivy wrapped around more of his body.

This caused him to glance up, seeing a girl with pale blond hair and icy blue eyes, staring at him from above, more emotionless than he had ever been. As he glanced up at her, a sudden pricking sensation came to his skin, and he felt some sort of thorns growing on the ivy, sticking into his skin.

Suddenly, he turned to look back in irritation at the woman who seemed to be in full control of the situation. The woman glared at him. "Now aren't you an annoyance. Gin-kun, kill the boy."

_Author's note - Here is where some of the spoilers come into play. If one is reading the current Manga in Japan, one knows at least Tosen was hollowfied. The theory is, Gin also had that done to him, and that his form was that of a fox._


	4. Headache

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Headache~**

"Now aren't you an annoyance," the female Arrancar had a rather annoyed look on her face. As the ivy held Hitsugaya tight, and the thorns pressed into his skin, and his rietsu grew weaker, she suddenly stated aloud. "Gin-kun, kill the boy."

The small taicho knew he was in trouble due to the fact that he happened to be unable to move, and his rietsu levels were dropping to very low levels. The ivy scrapped its thorns across his skin in some places as he struggled. He watched as the fox demon, for that was what Gin had become with his nine tails, turned slowly and looked at him, allowing for Isshin to have a chance to shove him away.

"I thought I told you to kill the boy, or you just plain stupid," the woman grumbled. "Do I have to do this myself?"

The small taicho felt a gust as Isshin suddenly moved behind him, and cut the ivy with his zampaktuo. He could feel his vision starting to fade, as his body lost all of its energy. His limbs felt like they had bricks attached to them, and they fell to his side. A strong arm wrapped around his chest and under his shoulders, supporting him so that he wouldn't fall to the ground below.

"Fuck… I was completely taken off guard…" the small boy's eyes were half closed as he tried to retain his focus. "Let me get my sword…"

"As if I would let you," Isshin muttered into his ear. "At this rate, you'll last at most, one, to two minutes."

"That should be enough…" the small boy stated, blinking a couple of times.

"I have to question why Yamamoto sent you, and you alone," Isshin sighed, holding onto the boy, even though it made it harder for him to fight.

"I know I told you to kill the boy… why are you refusing!" the woman snapped. Toshiro felt his former taicho tense, almost as if he had realized something. "Fine than, if you don't than, I will. Both are occupied."

Through his blurring vision, the small taicho saw that the woman made a stance to attack with her sword. He thought that she would get her attack in soon, however, to his dismay, it was the transformed Gin who moved first, coming towards the small taicho, his face suddenly appearing in front of Isshin and the small taicho.

Toshiro felt himself gag, as he saw what should have been a familiar face, not so familiar. Not to mention, even though he had seen this change with Gin, during the Winter War, he had never been this close, and he could smell his breath, and see the drool slipping down his jaws. There was nothing human left about him, and he half expected him to do something horrible to Isshin-san and him.

That was also when he felt his chin fall to his chest, his eyes closing, and his whole mind blacking out.

**M**

Isshin had seen that his former lieutenant was in trouble, and had hurried forward, only to place himself in a tight spot. Ivy, the small girl that had sent out the vines, made no move to make another attack, without orders from her partner. The female Arrancar was irritated with the fact that Gin wasn't moving to attack them.

"I know I told you to kill the boy… why are you refusing!" This statement caused Isshin to suddenly tense up, as he realized that she was right. Some instinct in Gin, one might say, was causing him to not attack the two of them. Because of the fact that the fox creature had been attacking him earlier, the reason that he had hesitated had to have been Shiro-chan.

He soon realize that he had tensed up, when Toshiro himself followed suit, even though he could also tell that the boy's body was weak. In fact, he knew that he would very quickly be unconscious, in an even shorter time frame than he had given the white haired child. Since Gin would not attack, he would have to brace himself for an attack from one of the two others.

To his surprise, the fox creature, soon after the Arrancar iterated that she would kill the boy, moved so that his hot breath poured down on the two shingami, catching Isshin off guard. Isshin felt that if Gin did in fact decide to go ahead and kill the charge in his arms, that he would not hesitate to kill the man. He pulled his sword and swung.

However, instead of hitting the face and the mask, it glanced across the side as the fox suddenly turned to face the female Arrancar as she charged forward, to attempt to kill Hitsugaya. That was when Isshin suddenly felt a pushing, as the blow of the strike that she had thrusted forward, shoved Gin backwards. However, instead of the weight of Gin's body crashing against Isshin, the mask crumpling and him returning to his human form.

Gin's eyes were a monstrous red, as he glared at the woman, and his skin was in a cold sweat, as he attempted to make a grab for his zampaktuo. However, Isshin brought his sword in front, blocking another blow from the Arrancar, feeling that Gin's powers would also disparate soon, not due to the woman's powers, but because of the strain of the seal having been broken.

"Take Shiro-chan from me Gin. Protect him from the other Arrancar," the man snapped out order wise. "Even though you wish to tear her limb to limb, I am better off doing the fighting."

To the former tenths delight, Gin stepped to the side as Isshin held Holly off, carefully scooping the young taicho into his arms. Heading towards the ground, he landed on one of the buildings, and lay the boy down, and stood in front of him. Ivy was likely to be an easy opponent, but the chance was that she tougher than he thought existed.

His hand went up to where the locket that the small taicho had given him was, only to discover that the whole thing was starting to break apart. He glanced around his surroundings and noted that Hyorinmaru had fallen and stuck into the roof of the building. Suddenly, strings of ivy shot down at him, and he swung his sword to deflect and rip them apart. He glanced up, seeing the small girl there, his eyes glowing red.

"Shoot to kill!" his voice hummed, and his blade shot out, only to be blocked by a whole veil of vines that acted like a shield. He grimaced at this, then muttered a quick kido to make it so that a barrier would be formed over the small taicho to block him. His eyes then fell on the ice zampaktuo, then at the girl who was glaring at him.

At that, he rolled to the side, and grabbed the zampaktuo. "_I know I am not your master, and I know that you possibly don't like me, however, are you willing to help me protect him?_"

"_Do not think I am blind to the reason why you choose to protect him… I have known for some time, and have chosen not to tell him as it isn't my place…_" the dragon hummed.

Gin's eyes narrowed and he knew that he would have to go and take this as a yes answer from the dragon, and swung around to face the small Arrancar child, his eyes livid. The small girl tilted her head at him. "Can… you actually… use someone else's?"

"On very rare occasions… yes…" Gin muttered, hoping that his plan would work. He held the long katana out so that when the next volley of ivy came through, he could tilt Hitsugaya's zampaktuo so that it wrapped around them.

"Are you… playing with me? What you are doing… makes no sense at all," the girl's voice had an amount of slight confusion, barely audible.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens… " Gin's voice called out, suddenly brining the zampaktuo into its shikai state, causing the vines to suddenly freeze over. "If that little one had been able to see you coming, you would have been dead."

Suddenly, as that happened, the other female Arrancar came crashing down next to Gin and Toshiro, cracking the roof. Isshin landed near where they were, his face reflecting that he wasn't going to be messed around with. The female stood up, clutching her right arm. "Ivy… we need to get out of here… the plan didn't work out…"

"Hai…" the small girl stated, leaving her vines behind. Both disappeared through a portal. Gin made a move to go after them, but Isshin grabbed his shoulder.

"There is no point in rushing into the whole matter, Gin," Isshin sighed. "Anyways, you're injured."

"Not that much," Gin stated, sheathing his own zampaktuo, and allowing Hyorinmaru to return to the first state. "The locket Shiro-chan gave me deflected her blow… it probably won't hold up."

"Toshiro gave you the locket… not Rangiku?" Isshin's eyes suddenly went wide.

"No… his idea was, if I had a picture of her on me, I would be less likely to betray her trust again," Gin stated, going over to where Toshiro lay on the ground, releasing the kido he had placed around the small boy.

"As for being injured, I am speaking naturally of the wound in your side that I gave you, it looks rather deep," Isshin sighed, shaking his head at the man.

"I'm fine… I'm more worried about Shiro-chan," the man stated, suddenly bending down and picking up the boy, even though his side was as bad as it was. The small taicho looked peaceful, as he was unconscious, but there were still signs that the boy had lived through more than someone his physical age should.

"Gin… why didn't you attack?" Isshin narrowed his eyes, getting around to the question that was bothering him.

"Because, Ran would be mad at me, if I killed her little taicho," the man stated, still smiling.

"As if… you know as well as I, that there is almost nothing that will get you into her good terms again," Isshin snapped. "Aren't you bothered that, between the two of us, Toshiro has called me Oto-san, and not you?"

At this, the silver haired man flinched, and glanced away at this question. "I think we should get the kiddo to peppermint hat's shop…"

"You mean Urahara… we can discuss what I want to on the way there, you aren't avoiding my questions, understand me?" Isshin stated as Gin took off to the place where the charge in his arms could rest best. "I asked, aren't you bothered about the fact that he's called me Oto-san and not you?"

"No… you're more of a father figure than I ever was," Gin stated as he hurried along. "You deserve him to call you that more than me, ever… even though…"

"Even though you think of him as your son… or is it that you are his blood father," Isshin stated, as they neared the shop.

"If Aizen had blood children, Isshin-san, he would not deserve for them to call him father… ever," Gin stated firmly, his tone turning cold.

"And you think that you are as bad as him?" Isshin stated, glancing around for Urahara. However, the man wasn't there, so he motioned him into a back room, grabbing some of the supplies that his old friend kept on hand for such matters. Gin attempted at avoiding answering the question, instead settling the boy onto one of the futons. This causes Isshin's irritation to grow, to the point that he snapped out. "Gin! Do you really think that you're as bad as Aizen!"

"That is what everyone else thinks, so it really doesn't matter," the man stated, refusing to look the man in the face.

"That is what everyone thinks Isshin, give him a break about that," came a voice from the doorway. Urahara was glaring at the traitor. "I would rather he not be in here, but as he is injured, and with you, I should think it is fine. The others are out tracking Gin down… due to the fact we felt his release form… perhaps he can give me good mind as to why I shouldn't contact Soul Society right now?"

"He saved Shiro-chan's life, Urahara…" the former tenth division taicho stated.

"Well, let me step in and make sure his life remains saved, with what little healing kido I do know," Urahara sighed. "I trust that the former tenth division captain will lend a hand?"

"Of course…" Isshin muttered, as he helped pulled out supplies. "Though I get the idea I'll be doing most of the work…"

"My, my, well, that would be because you know healing kido, I don't!" Urahara laughed.

"You two make it seem as if my saving him is a big deal," Gin stated, his irritation showing.

"Well, isn't it," peppermint hat asked.

"No… it isn't,"

"Hell it is Gin!" Isshin snapped back as he worked. "Under mind control of that wench, you attacked me, but when she told you to kill Hitsugaya Toshiro, you instead got in the way of her attack, causing me to hurt you, and her to damage that locket of yours!"

Urahara's head snapped up, and his tone became serious. "You know… I feel as if I am possibly missing some information here."

"I was Ran's former taicho, Gin," Isshin glared at the younger man. "When I promoted her, she was nervous, and rather upfront about missing a year in the academy. I knew that there were only a few reasons that she would have missed, but I didn't push the issue, but later on, she did tell me why. The year after you graduated from the academy, before she did, she miscarried a child."

"And where is this going, this train of thought of yours?" Urahara shook his head, knowing he had possibly heard more than he wanted too.

"Good question, where is this going? I would rather you didn't bring up private matters…" Gin muttered.

"Private?" Isshin became irritated. "Don't kid me, not when it involves this small boy! As I recall, the date that she told me she miscarried was the twentieth of December…"

Urahara's eyes suddenly went wide, realization also hitting him. "The young taicho… that is his birthdate, is it not?"

"I had always thought it was just coincidence that his birthday had been the same. I dared not bring it up with him, because it was _not _my right to do so. I bring it up now, because of the fact it is the only thing I can think of that explains away your crazy behavior!" Isshin was livid, but kept his tone down, as to not bother.

"It would also explain why you went as far as you did in this whole mess," Urahara sighed. "This whole time you've been protecting your son."

"Just because I did this to protect him from Aizen, isn't a reason that I should simply be pardoned for my atrocities…" Gin muttered darkly, referring to the reason that Yamamoto had chosen to pardon him.

"So than, I am right in assuming that Toshiro is your and Ran's child?" Isshin stated, his tone calming.

"Well, it is quite obvious, now that I think of it," Urahara stated. "The boy looks so much like you, and acts like you…"

Gin's eyes snapped open, and his smirk turned in a frown. "Yes, he looks like me, but he is far more like Ran-chan than me!"

"I was going to say… there are traces of her in his looks, and I've seen some of her traits come out in him…" Urahara stated. "I should think that he inherited both of your good traits, rather than your bad…"

"You call both Toshiro and Rangiku being stubborn as hell, good traits?" Isshin muttered, suddenly realizing that fact.

Gin let out a soft chuckle. "Yet I would have described that as their good traits."

Isshin suddenly frowned. "Urahara… could you take a look at Shiro-chan's blood… I think that the ivy thorns had something in them…"

"Of course…" Urahara watched as Gin suddenly squirmed. "Look… if at all possible, we'll make it so all your efforts these past years don't go to waste."

After Urahara left, Isshin tilted his head. "So, how are you going to tell Rangiku that you've lied to her all this time?"

"I shan't… not yet anyways…" Gin sighed. "I don't think anyone would understand why I did what I did."

"You mean the fact that you knew as soon as Toshiro was born, that he would be high in rieatsu. And even if that wasn't the case, the fact that he was male, made it more likely Aizen would use him… perhaps… even hollowfying him."

"When he was born, you don't know how much I hoped he wasn't a boy. Not because I don't love him, but because I knew that, I would have to give him up, to protect him. What Aizen did to me, ripped me apart, made me… I couldn't let that happen to my little one. But… as he grew in Ran's womb, I kind of had to wonder, if… even if he had been born a girl, that I might have had to have done the same thing…"

"How did you trick Ran like you did? And how come she hasn't figured out yet?"

"I think deep down she knows… but, the reasons she hasn't figured it out is, because… well, obviously she didn't tell you this part, but… she thought that she had miscarried a girl, because that was what I told her. I created a fake grave for the baby, and… I was lucky that he was one of those that didn't cry…"

_Author's note - Yeah, if Gin ended up hollowfied by Aizen, it would be sad. But the likelihood is rather high. I much prefer Gin with a fox mask, and fox form, rather than a snake… but the other is likely to…_


	5. Saving Christmas

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Saving Christmas~**

What he was feeling to say the least was rather hard to describe, as he had problems moving his body. This could have been due to the dull ache that ran through his limps and head, or due to the lack of energy that he felt running through his body. An attempt to roll over, was completely stiff, and resulted in no results towards the goal at mind, getting up.

He wondered where he was, and found himself able to flex his fingers and felt that the ground was soft and easily filtered through his fingers. The ground was granular like sand… perhaps it even was sand, though how he had gotten from a city, to a place that could likely only be found in nature was beyond his mind, not to mention why someone hadn't yet come and get him from where he was.

Forcing his eyes open was also a task in itself, as they didn't at all wish to cooperate. They felt heavy, and he would get them part way open, or so his mind thought, and they would close again. This was because he remembered dreams where he thought he was waking up, but he really wasn't. He however, had an odd feeling, yet it wasn't a kind of feeling where he felt that his life was in danger, and he almost felt comfortable staying as he was.

However, it wasn't his personality to sit around doing nothing, so eventually he was able to force his eyes open, only to see a violet sky, that was vividly bright, yet dim at the same time. There were also white clouds tinged with a blue color, floating above his head, and he didn't remember this being where he had been before at all.

He still was struggling to sit up, or move the rest of his body. One part of him told him to give up and rest awhile, but the other part, the part that he tended to listen to, wished to push forward, no matter what happened, with the idea that giving up so easily was not an option. Though truthfully, he wasn't really giving, up, just dealing with the facts his body had laid out for him.

"I am not feeling well," the small taicho stated to no one in particular. The only possible one that he thought was near enough to respond to what he had said was Hyorinmaru, yet the dragon didn't speak up, not to lecture, or even point out that the white haired boy almost never admitted when he was more ill than he liked.

"Well, isn't that rather obvious Shiro-chan?" came someone else's voice, distant in memory, but still all too familiar to the small boy. The white haired taicho somehow managed to raise his right hand to be in front of his face, where it showed five fingers, then ten, then five again. He then turned towards the direction that he had heard the man call from, his eyes narrowing somewhat.

The man was dressed in the usual black shingami robes, however, the crazy old man had found the need to add a little bit of what Toshiro deemed had to be Christmas cheer to his uniform. The man trimmed the hem with white fur, and added sprigs of leaves and red berries to his uniform, not to mention his sash and haori were red and green colored.

Toshiro let out a sigh at this, rather annoyed. "I have got to be dreaming…"

Isshin tilted his head from where he stood on the sand dune, and shook his head, giving Toshiro an odd look, asking why he would say such a thing, when it shouldn't possibly be true. Then again, sometimes when one dreamed, oneself liked to trick themselves that they weren't dreaming, and this was likely the case. "Now why would you say that Shiro-chan?"

"There is no way in hell that Yamamoto would let you get away with your uniform like that… I mean, that goes beyond anything anyone else has done," Hitsugaya mumbled, rather irritated with the whole situation, as he had gotten a whole lot more than what he had bargained for when he came on the mission that the old general had assigned to him. Why he had to go it alone, he now definitely had no clue.

"Ahh… but Shiro-chan," Isshin stated, using that dreadful nickname. Of course, this had been one of the few people who had gotten away with calling him that, due to his seniority in many areas... among other things. A lot of that was gone now, or so it seemed. "Kyoraku wears a kimono with his. Kenpachi's haori is torn. That weird scientist dude wears makeup…"

"You're the one who's always gone overboard… and its Hitsugaya Taicho now… the small boy stated, finally finding the strength to be able to sit up. He rubbed his eyes, attempting to make the slight ache to go away. His former taicho was still as troublesome as always, and the next statement out of his mouth only served to prove the whole matter.

"Not for this special mission that we just so happen to be assigned too!" Isshin stated, a huge smirk on his face. "It is of the most upmost importance to work together, just like the good old days, when we made a good team. Too bad Ran-chan isn't here to help, because that would make things even more fun.

"Hell, as if it would," the small taicho muttered, thinking of the two of them drinking, and feeding off each other, something he most definitely didn't need. His throat was dry, so he reached up to rub it, only to have his eyes go wide, as he felt his old lieutenants badge there. He quickly felt his shoulders for his haori. "Nani! This most definitely is a dream… isn't it?"

"Not sure what you are talking about," the old man sighed, shrugging his shoulders. Even Isshin wouldn't have been rude enough to have forced the uniform change on the small taicho, making it so that the small boy had a better idea of where he was… or wasn't, in the scheme of things. Suddenly, he shunpooed over to the small boy and offered him a hand up. "Don't you want to know what the mission is?"

"I know this is a dream because I left my lieutenants badge where it has been for the last twenty years… in my desk drawer… baka… you should know, if you were the real Isshin," the boy sighed, accepting the hand to help get him on his feet.

"I still don't know what you're talking about. You sure you don't want to know what our mission is?" Isshin smiled, that stupid, corny smile of his, when everyone knew not to take him seriously, or that one had to prod him to get him to act seriously.

"Fine, go ahead and tell me what the stupid dream or not real mission is," Toshiro stated, wobbling on his legs as he dusted his clothes off, and rolled his eyes at the idiocracy of the whole matter.

"We're going to go and rescue Santa Clause! "Isshin blurted out, his voice filled with such glee that meant that he was enjoying acting like a complete fool. Not only did Hitsugaya's face twist is surprise and shock, he ended up falling onto his bottom, and needing another hand up. It was going to be a very long, and awkward dream and he hoped they wouldn't get so far as having to meet an imaginary person.

Isshin helped him up again, and then had the nerve to state. "Now won't it be fun, me and son… having a great adv…", only to find a knee in his groin. "Owe!"

"What the fuck! Don't you dare play these kinds of jokes on me, you sick old man bastard!" The small taicho was livid, due to Isshin suggesting one of the most childish, and most unbelievable things he could ever imagine. However, another piece of proof, that this was all just a dream occurred, as a small bar of soap was in his mouth, causing him to have to spit it out. "Bleehh!"

"Shiro-chan!" The old ex-taicho's aura suddenly turned dark, causing the boy to shrink back, remembering that Isshin could also have a temper on him at times. "I've told you many timed, not to go and say bad words!"

"Well… still! Do you expect me to believe in Santa Clause!" the small white haired boy stated, still shrinking back, but his irritation over the whole matter still evident. It was a complete and utter nightmare. Sure, someone like Yachiru might think of it as a dream come true, but he most definitely didn't .

He continued, emphasizing the fact that the terrain was off. "This whole place! I may not know anything about Christmas, and all the childishness that goes along with the stupid holiday, but I do know this isn't real, and the fact that he is in the Arctic, which is made up of snow, not sand! I've had enough times having Yachiru asking me to take her there every year because I have an ice zampaktuo…"

"But would this be what snow would feel life if it wasn't cold, and wet?" Isshin smiled at the small boy, making completely no sense at all.

Except that in real life, that wouldn't work…" the boy muttered, still glaring at the man. "Seriously… that is just one more thing that proves the whole thing is a dream. Hyorinmaru… hurry up and wake me up already! This isn't funny!"

"He can't, because you aren't in a dream, Isshin smiled, making Toshiro hope that this was one of those dreams… no, nightmares that made it so that it definitely tried to make you think this was reality. Toshiro made to get going in the opposite direction of the man, yet his legs didn't move as well as he wanted them too.

This allowed Isshin to grab him by the sleeve and begin to drag him through the sand dunes, going wherever they were going. Toshiro really had no clue, nor did he really care, just so long as he could eventually wake up. He was seriously glad that this wasn't real, as he happened to not want anyone he knew to see him being treated like a child, or even acting like a child. "Oh… and you are a child, Shiro-chan…"

This statement, which came from his psyche reading his ego, suddenly caused his eyebrow to twitch. He had the idea that his mind was trying to make him go insane, trying to make him break down, yet he was far from letting this happen. When his taicho had been around, he might have actually lost his temper at him, but he made the decision not to, at least for now.

Thus, he followed the man along, Isshin pulling him by the sleeve, the white haired boy following behind him, through a span of nothingness… a desert of what Hitsugaya was thinking of as fake snow. This made him wish for his inner world, where he at least felt safe, and his dragon protected him from the cold, not to mention, he could have what he considered a decent conversation.

Suddenly, Isshin cried out, pointing off to something that they had come upon. "Look, a Christmas tree with an angel on top!"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes, and saw a familiar strawberry headed female sitting on top of a column., wearing a silky dress that was a tad frilly. And no, it wasn't Matsumoto but Inoue-san. She had one of those huge smiles on her face. While Toshiro could say that her dress was angel like there were some problems that he indeed happen to see, regarding what his former taicho had said. "Hello Toshiro-kun and funny goat beard man!"

"First off… that isn't a tree taicho… and as I recall something Matsumoto telling me… it is supposed to be decorated with some sort of lights… these long ones that are pointed on each end… she likes to decorate the office with them, though… so I know at least what they look like," the boy muttered.

At this statement from him, the column remained there, but it was suddenly entwined with lights. Orihime clapped her hands together. "Now isn't that better?"

"Look Shiro-chan! The tree now has lights!" his former taicho laughed insanely.

"That isn't a tree baka!" Toshiro snapped out loud. "That was the second thing that I have a problem with, and the third is that if she's an angel, where are her wings?"

At that, Orihime hopped down and turned around, pointing at the middle of her back and pouting. There were to really small, stubby wings, sticking out from the middle of her back. "I am an angel without wings… until I help someone on some _really _big mission, I can't get my wings. Unfortunately for myself, I am not able to fight, like the other angels… so I am practically useless…"

As the orange haired girl turned back around and laughed at them in her usual manner, possibly knowing that she looked like a dork, Isshin spoke up. "How would you like to help us on our mission! We are saving Santa Clause!"

"Ehh! Santy!" Orihime clapped her hands together in glee. "Of course I would like to help you rescue Santa Clause."

"Hold it! Don't both of you know that he's not real?" Toshiro asked, giving them a look that said that he completely couldn't believe that they might actually say the opposite. Even his tone reflected this.

"Ehh! Of course Santa is real!" Orihime pouted, suddenly wrapping Toshiro in her arms. "Why wouldn't a cute little kid like you not believe in him! Don't you get Christmas presents every year."

"That isn't proof!" the small taicho wiggled out of her grip, aggravated at being touched.

"Toshiro… he's real… that's why we are going on a mission to save him!" Isshin stated firmly, as if what he said would actually make sense in the long run. The small taicho opened his mouth to argue, but realized that out of all the people he knew, these to actually might believe in the old man up north.

**M**

Gin sat in the corner of the room, watching carefully, half sulking, and not speaking even to Isshin. While the truth had been spilled out to the two older men, things practically remained the same as they had been before, Gin distancing himself from the boy, pretending that there was no connection between him and the boy.

Urahara had demanded that Gin hand over his zampaktuo though, before he even went to draw the blood from the small boy's arm. He had been quite clear, that while those in Soul Society that found it apt to leave it with him with his powers sealed, there was the fact that Urahara was not of the same mindset, even after finding out why the man had done what he had. He also had the problem with the fact that Gin's powers were now unsealed.

The man had the tendency to keep the same attitude about him, until something startled him enough, and the peppermint hat man's sudden proposal, or more of demand, hand caused him to flinch, and that smirk to suddenly turn upside down, and… perhaps a little more normal, but really, Urahara doubted that it ever would look normal.

No symptoms were present that something had gotten into the blood stream of the small taicho, but then the events had been only a few short minutes ago, and there was the fact that some symptoms would take longer, Urahara had no problem with getting the equipment to withdraw the blood from the small boys arm.

And that was one of the few other times that Gin's expression changed. His aura had grown… not so much as dark, but more of a grey dim as he watched the small amount of blood being withdrawn from the small boy's arm. When Urahara was finished, the atmosphere turned to normal, and the shopkeeper took his leave, scribbling a note for Tessai up at the front of the store to let him know what was going on.

Isshin sat next to the small boy, who was under the covers of the futon, down to the undermost part of his uniform, the under kimono. His eyes were closed, his face tensed up and his small chest rising and falling in a rhythmic movement. However, this was one of the first signs, about half an hour later, that showed that something was wrong.

His breathing became a little bit hagridden, and he broke out into a cold sweat, as his body tried to fight off whatever was causing the problems in his body. Isshin couldn't be sure if the ivy had something in it, and he also couldn't be sure if it was because the boy's spiritual power was heavily lowered. That, or a combination of both.

Suddenly, the small boy's body began to twitch, and Gin nearly jumped out of his skin. "Ne… is he going to be all right…"

"Unless the twitching gets violent, I'll be right in assuming that he is simply having a nightmare," Isshin sighed. However, Urahara came into the room, a frown on his face.

"Yes… it is likely that he is having a nightmare… but the question of how the nightmare will affect him depends on how strong that substance that was on the ivy. I confirmed that much with my examination of his blood, there is something there, and the chemistry behind it means that there is slim chance it isn't just a simple dream…"

"Is there something we can do about it, an antidote?" Isshin asked, as Gin fidgeted a little. "I mean, surely you could whip up something."

They could hear the movements of a few others arriving outside, that being the entirety of shop that had preceded to also go out and look for Gin when they had felt the rietsu go off. Luck had been in the favor if the battle that had occurred not lasting very long, but there was also the factor that young Hitsugaya lay in front of them, not like he had been before.

"If I have time, that is the thing… and I haven't analyzed all the properties that the substance has. It will take awhile, and I don't know how mild or strong it is," the man sighed. "Nor do I know how bad the dreams will be, or how psychologically scarring, if at all. I mean, this is Arrancar that we are talking about, Hollows… we really don't know what the full extent is, but I can't hope that it is pretty… or nice…"

"And what do you suggest doing about this?" Isshin sighed, frowning at the man.

"We need to somehow get into Hitsugaya-kun's inner world, which is likely being manipulated to be something else. However, that requires gaining Hyorinmaru's trust, because without it, none of us will be allowed in…"

At this, Isshin suddenly glanced at Gin. "Hey… why don't you go ahead and give it a try. Hyorinmaru let him use you earlier…"

"No… I don't like the idea about imparting myself on him…" Gin muttered, glaring at the ground, his mood darkening.

"Even if it is a means of helping him?" Urahara asked, already knowing the answer that he would get.

_Author's note - I know… possibly not what anyone expected… and rather odd.  
__**Challenge Forum – **__I opened up a forum with writing challenges… if people wish to participate in them. I've kind of kept moving up the dates, due to me not getting a big enough response, but oh well. I'm kinda hoping some other people will throw out some challenges there to. Some are easy, others not…  
__**Writing – **__I have had the luck of not only not feeling good, but I can tell you, while the chapter is very similar to the first person, it is completely rewritten. Most especially towards the end. It just seemed, not so believable, how I got things together. Took a few tries and is hard to explain really._


	6. Gin Rummy

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Gin Rummy~**

Gin sat at the head of the small taicho's futon, not moving, but not going into the boy's inner world as of yet. Even though there had been the insistence that it was rather important that someone go into the boy's inner world, to find out exactly what was going on, he couldn't help but feel some reluctance in doing so, and was taking his time.

The former taicho of the tenth division sat in a corner, fast asleep, yet alert enough to wake up if any serious changes came to the young man, or something else occurred that his attention needed to be drawn too. In Gin's opinion, this man was in truth the best person to go into Toshiro's inner world, simply from the fact that Toshiro was more trusting of that man out of all three of them.

However, Urahara, who had gone to his lab, and Isshin had both formed the idea that Gin was the best and most likely, simply because of the fact that Hyorinmaru had in fact trusted him, which was in truth the greatest barrier that one would need to overcome in order to get into the young boy's inner world. It could easily be said that the ice dragon was like a shield over who Toshiro really was.

Ichimaru had no smile on his face, and instead had a frown. Not to mention, his eyes were open wider than normal, giving off a dark aura, as he watched the young child's rough breathing. Things were not supposed to be like this, as he had done everything that he had done, to make sure that the young one would remain safe. Thus his curiosity, to know that Hitsugaya would be all right, overcame him.

The right hand of Gin carefully moved, tense at the idea of touching, as his mental state rather told him he had no right to. Finally, though, his fingers brushed against the boy's forehead, brushing away that oddball lock of hair that seemed to always come into his face. The fact that there was no reaction at all from the white haired boy, let Gin know, he might as well proceed with the whole matter.

His ling, bony fingers settled to touch lightly against the skin of Toshiro's forehead, and he closed his eyes, trying to meditate, to go into his own inner world, and perhaps find some breach between his and the icy world that he knew Toshiro to have. However, he didn't expect to be greeted by a fuzziness, which wasn't characteristic of his world, nor for the ice dragon to present himself in front of him.

Gin stood in front of the huge beast, remaining calm, even though the dragon could at times be more unsettling then his own zampaktuo, or his own inner hollow. The man's usual customary smirk suddenly reappeared. "Hello, Hyorinmaru. I know that you don't like me, but I have a good reason for intruding like I am."

"As I have said before, it is not my place to decide if I like you or not. You've entered masters inner world a long time ago, telling me to hold off on letting his powers emerge, to not call to him…" the dragon stated, the last part said rather darkly.

"Couldn't you have held off a little longer? You and I both know that he's the youngest to have ever entered the academy, the distance between him and the others, about forty years, or the equivalent of four year," Ichimaru stated firmly, asserting his own problem that he had had. "And I don't think that chibi-taicho would like you calling him master, would he?"

"I'll call mine shingami what I will," the ice dragon muttered, breathing deeply through his nostrils. "You are free to enter, though I doubt that Hitsugaya-sama would be happy with you there, but while I am able to call to him, and here his pleas for me to interfere, I am unable to have him hear my words."

"Is there a chance that I will not be able to enter…" Gin stated firmly, slight concern in his voice.

"No… the chance of you being able to enter has actually grown, Ichimaru Gin. Something else has taken control of his inner world…"

"Please tell me it is not an inner hollow developing," came the hurried reply, not to mention a slight, but short lived frown from the silver headed man.

"No… it is actually mine shingami that is subconsciously blocking me. It is almost like some sort of drug has taken effect," the dragon stated, then spoke up, feeling the concern coming from Gin about what he had just said. "Without me, master would be susceptible to a lot of things that he normal wouldn't, as he is still a child, whether he wishes to admit it or not…"

"Then I am on my way…" Gin stated, but not before, he gave some parting words. "Ne… Hyorinmaru… you ever think about letting up a little on Shiro-chan, so that he might accidently act his age."

"Oh… I have done so… I can only suggest things, and protect his inner world… under most circumstances," the dragon stated, almost as if he was laughing.

Ichimaru shunpooed mentally through the static, until he came to an odd, sandy white world, which was most defiantly not the inner world that he knew the small taicho to have, which in itself was concerning. He wanted to spend time looking around, but he knew that he had to be getting along to find the boy.

His luck was, as soon as he breached the wall of the inner world, he felt Toshiro's rieatsu fluctuate. It was rather filled with a level of shock, not to mention, disternation at the fact that the boy had already figured out that someone or something was intruding on him, however, there was no fear there, more of a complete acceptance of the fact.

Thus he was able to shunpoo towards the small boy, no clue at all what was going on, and felt his fake smile suddenly slipping from his face, and his eyes widening, as he caught site of the small boy's companions. Under normal circumstances, he would have found it hysterical, but in truth, he knew that this was in fact serious.

Isshin was dressed in the weirdest shingami uniform Gin had ever seen, the imaginary one that was, for he knew the man hadn't entered Toshiro's inner world. Also, there was an imaginary Orihime-chan there, dressed in a rather flimsy dress. The girl for some reason always reminded him of Ran… perhaps because of the way she looked.

And there was Toshiro, slowly following along behind them, his footsteps sluggish, and his whole body fighting to catch up. It was rather obvious that his body was rather weak, and that he was fighting with all his effort to keep up with the other two, who seemed to treat the matter with relative ease. Gin could only shake his head at that boy's stubbornness.

He also realized that he would have to find a way to fit in, and thus closed his eyes, imagining a roundish, rather cartoonish skeleton mask that he had once seen when he had gone to see a Christmas movie with Rangiku. Thus, it would seem less likely that Toshiro would suspect that something was off about the whole matter.

To Gin's irritation, as he was walking on ground that allowed him to see further ahead, he saw that Isshin and Orihime had gotten rather far ahead of the small boy, and he thus hopped down, to follow the small boy, at a rather close distance. However, something gave him away, causing Toshiro to suddenly turn on the man.

"You… why are you here too! What's next in this stupid nightmare of mine? Aizen? Tosen?" the boy prattled off, much to Gin's dismay. "It's already enough that Isshin-san taicho came to me with this stupid mission of rescuing Santa Clause, who… hell… isn't real, I'm going to have to deal with all the Espada too in the stupid, childish dream."

"Ne… maybe they'll turn into something really childish, like jack-in-the-box?" Gin stated, suddenly catching up to the small boy. "it seems that your shunpoo still can't keep up with your taicho's, can it, Shiro-chan?"

"Don't call me that!" the small boy snapped, almost stumbling forward. "Go away!"

"I'm not going to!" Gin stated

"Just do it! I don't want to have dreams about you, you stupid pedophile!" Toshiro snapped out again, his two eyes, with bags under them, suddenly feeling with rage.

"All right… I'll leave you alone here…" Gin stated, suddenly and quickly disappearing from the small boy's inner world. He opened his eyes to reality, and removed his fingers from the small boy's forehead.

That hand reached up and touched the locket that Toshiro had given him, ironically on the small boy's own birthday. To Gin's dismay, it broke off the chain, and the hinge was in such a state that each half was now separate. In the opposite side from Ran's picture, Ichimaru couldn't help look at the picture that he had placed there.

"How did it go?" Isshin suddenly asked, having woken up from his nap

"Not well…" Gin sighed, glancing away, his hand loosening his grip on the locket pieces, allowing Isshin to suddenly see the other picture that was in there.

"Hyorinmaru did let you in though?" Isshin asked, a rather worried tone in his voice.

"Oh… Hyorinmaru let me in… if that dragon had his way, Toshiro would have been in the academy by the time he was age two, I think," the man muttered. "But he listened to me, when I told him it was for Toshiro's best interest."

"So… even though you gave your son up, you still got to see him… that wasn't rather fair to Rangiku, now was it," Isshin admonished, leaning back against the wall.

"No… it wasn't. I'd really forgotten about it, until Hyorinmaru reminded me. I really didn't get to see him, at least what I consider seeing him," Gin stated, glancing at the wall. "If Ran ever finds out, she'll kill me."

"She'll want to hurt you simply for taking her baby away for this long…" Isshin muttered, his tone indicating that he didn't want to be on the woman's bad side, but he knew he might end up being that way, simply because he was dead by soul society's ruling. "Now, if it wasn't the zampaktuo…"

"I hadn't taken into consideration Shiro-chan's stubbornness. And… I had forgotten that he had told me earlier that he thought I was a pedophile… and that was why I happened to have asked him why his picture wasn't in the locket," Gin muttered.

"So… you were the one who happened to put it there, not him?" came the logical question from the older man.

"Nope… I felt that it had more meaning that way, though I doubt he would understand why."

"He might if you told him, you were his father," Isshin sighed. "You should eventually tell him…"

"He isn't old enough…" came the firm reply. "He might have made it to be captain of the gotei, but it was really by fluke. I know it sounds weird, me saying it as I am in fact one of the captain's that supported him becoming captain, but… if you were still around, he would still be in the father and son relationship he needs."

"So, you don't think he's grown at all?" the former tenth division member asked.

"Nope," Gin stated. "He hasn't grown at all in the last twenty years since you left. In fact, I think he actually went backwards from the improvements that you had helped him with… way back…"

"Have you taken into consideration his personal growth between when you betrayed everyone and now?" Isshin was trying to draw from his experience as a father. "Every time my kids have been away…"

"I guarantee you, Isshin-san… he hasn't grown…" the man stated.

"And when was the last time you talked to him? Today… the Winter War… when you left Ran to follow Aizen?"

"Don't make me laugh. He shouldn't have ever been in that battle. It was all way over his head. I could tell from his reactions, his speech patterns, the changes in his rietsu…"

"Gin… do you really think that you are going to protect him all his life?" came the wisdom filled advice. "I also wouldn't go judging his growth on that battle either. Yes, it was way over his head, but… seriously… it was rather nasty, wasn't it? He had a lot of emotions riding in that one… things he possibly wasn't used to, because it was the first time, he faced them. But that was also two months ago, and a child can actually grow from that."

"I'll think about it…" Gin murmured, rather irritated about the whole situation.

"You need to try again, and don't back down simply because he doesn't want you there. I mean, it would be one thing if it were life in general, but it seems you might be putting in your fears of him rejecting you into this. I need to know that you will be alright with just Tessai in the morning, as I need to take care of my clinic, so as no suspicion is aroused."

"I'll be fine… though I admit that this isn't an easy task at all…"

"I'll be heading home now, as I have two little girls around his age, both of which it would be best not to worry. If anything happens, Urahara will contact me…" Isshin stated, getting up.

However, his movements were interrupted by the small taicho suddenly sitting bolt upright, his eyes glazed over. His weak voice suddenly came out. "Don't… leave… me … a… lone…"

"Gin…" Isshin's two eyes suddenly filled with worry. "What exactly is going on there? I think you had best go back in."

With one swift movement, Gin had pulled the boy into his lap, only to have him struggle for a bit, a few seconds after it was obvious that Ichimaru had gone back into the dream state the boy was in.

**M**

At first, Hitsugaya was quite fine with Gin leaving, however, this completely changed when the distance between him and Isshin-san taicho and Inoue san had grown to the point he couldn't see them anymore. And even then, this didn't bother him. That was until his mind began to fill with loneliness and uncertainty. At least with the two companions, he knew something was going on. " Don't leave me alone!"

Suddenly, he felt an arm that was slightly on the bony side, wrap around his waist, and a few fingers placed on his forehead, that could only belong to one person. "Gin!"

"Ne… chibi-taicho… if you don't want to be left alone, you need to quicken you step, right?" Gin commented.

"Let go!" Toshiro suddenly felt the urge to struggle. "You're a pedophile!"

"It's a dream, isn't it?" Gin hummed carefully into his ear. "Maybe I am the Gin before all the bad stuff happened?"

The small white haired taicho suddenly settled down, applying the logic and thinking about the whole matter. In a more calm, but rather tired manner, he spoke up. "I would still rather you let me go."

At that, Gin let, go, and moved in front of him, that odd smile on his face. "I know that you don't like help from others, or being treated like a child, but if I were to carry for a ways, we might be able to catch up with them, ne?"

"I don't want them to see! It's embarrassing!" Toshiro's eyes narrowed, and he had a deep frown on his face.

"They aren't really… but imaginary… so the real ones won't know!" Gin smirked. "Or should I just go head and walked without you?"

Toshiro watched as Gin got down low enough so that the small boy could grab a hold around his neck with his own strength, the little that he had left. He watched as Hitsugaya hesitated, then the boy closed his eyes. "Hell… it is just a dream… and I am so tiered. Maybe it would be alright if I rested a bit…"

Stiffly, he walked behind the silver-headed man, and wrapped his arms around his neck, while Gin used his arms to hold him onto his back, and then they set off. "So… what can you tell me about this, Shiro-chan?"

"Just that stupid old Isshin blurted out about the mission to rescue Santa… Hinamori-san is supposed to be an angel…."

"You're tireder then I thought… it is Inoue-san," Gin sighed.

"Oh… yeah…" Toshiro sighed. "That is about all I know… oh… and everything seems to be a weird twisting of Christmas here, though I am not entirely sure… except your odd hollow mask. I thought that it was supposed to be a fox one, but it is this one I've never seen before… it seems more Halloween then Christmas…"

Toshiro swore he could feel the man tense up, but decided to think nothing of it, his body protesting the need to find out versus the need to rest.

_Author's note - About the mask, it is supposed to be the main character from Nightmare Before Christmas. Gin tensed up, because he realized his mistake in picking something from a movie that Toshiro had never seen before._


	7. Christmas Devil

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Christmas Devil~**

Gin could feel the small body pressed against his back, holding on rather weakly as he attempted to catch up with the two figments of Toshiro's imagination. Even though the boy's body was weak, Gin could still feel some of the strength returning to it, so was a rather a bit comforting, that the boy had the chance of recovering.

Suddenly, something green appeared in the distance, that was fast approaching as Gin continued to walk. What he saw, appeared to be a group of trees, with a rather large one in the middle. The silver haired man let out a sigh, and quickened his step, rather hoping that the two companions had in fact perhaps stopped in that small grove.

The pine smell was in truth intoxicating, and Ichimaru felt the small boy move on his shoulders, and lift himself up a bit. "Ne… Ichimaru… I smell pine… there isn't pine in Japan, is there…"

"Ahh… the main ones are the black, red and white, but I think that these aren't native to Japan, Shiro-chan…" Gin muttered to the half-groggy boy, having the idea that if Toshiro were able to think on his own, he would know that the three were used in bonsais.

"What do you mean, not likely native to Japan?" the boy asked, still holding on.

"Because, they are very pointy, from top to bottom," Gin stated. "And the fact that one of them is decorated with ornaments, I think they are supposed to be Christmas trees."

"Yay…" came the muffled reply as Toshiro buried his mouth into the back of Ichimaru's shoulder, indicating his displeasure at having found this bit of information out.

"Toshiro-kun! There you are! We thought we had lost you, and might have to go back and rescue you!" came a sudden, very chipper voice. Both of the light haired males turned their heads towards the voice, to find that the Orihime had spotted them. And at that point, she also noticed that Toshiro was with Gin. "Goat beard person! Goat beard person! Toshiro-kun's been kidnapped!"

"Gin! Put me down! Quick!" Toshiro stated, though he really didn't wait to let the man allow him down, and instead, he ended up pushing away from his body. This was an unfortunate mistake, as Ichimaru couldn't hold on much longer, and Toshiro felt his body crash to the ground as Gin was unable to adjust to stop the small boy.

"Owe!"

"Serves you right for being stupid…" Gin muttered, reaching down to give the boy yet another hand up. The boy's body was shaking a bit, from the shock and the pain that he had felt. However, to both male shingami's dismay, Orihime at that very moment decided to tackle the former third division taicho, causing him to crash and land on top of the small boy.

"That… hurts… get off…" Toshiro muttered, his voice rather muffled, not to mention panicking.

"I would… but…" Gin had somehow managed to push himself part way up, only to find that he was being beaten up, by the small pint sized girl… well, pint sized except for her chest size. Her fists were rather light, but the rapid succession of them amounted to something painful, and he could also only push himself so far up.

"Now, now angel lady," came Isshin's voice, as he suddenly plucked the girl up and off of Gin. "He's actually here to help…"

"No way! He's got that really scary mask on," Orihime fussed, as Gin managed to finally get off the boy.

"It isn't that scary…" the small taicho retorted. "It is more of something one might see in one of those stupid, childish cartoons."

"You don't need to be that way, Shiro-chan," the boy's former taicho sighed. "I mean, would it really hurt you to enjoy something that is silly."

"I just want to go home, and not have to deal with all this silliness…" came the muttered reply.

"Are you hurt?" came Orihime's sudden question, as Toshiro leaned up against the tree, trying his best to pretend that the three were in fact, not there. His mind didn't want to even begin to fathom what was going on. And he glanced at the ceiling, or more of, tree grove, the pain coursing through his body, from when Gin had fallen on him.

Sure, the man hadn't meant to, but it was a dream, so his subconscious self must be trying to torture him. For why else would the treacherous man show up in the first place. The one that now sat in front of him, cross-legged and looking like a fool, with that wide smile on his face. It wasn't as if the man cared at all, even though… it seemed that the corners were turned differently.

He could see the overly large ornaments above him, and he had to wonder who in their right mind would decorate a tree in such a way. Perhaps Matsumoto, but there was in fact, no sign of Matsumoto being there at that period in time, which was perhaps good, because he could just imagine her beating up Gin, or suffocating her small taicho in that chest of hers.

The tree began to shake suddenly, when the ornaments began to wobble, and fall off. Suddenly, one of the big ones came falling down, strait for him, and he really had no strength to move. His two teal eyes suddenly went wide, his mind distracted by the whole problem of getting away, however, just as suddenly, someone was pulling him away.

He blinked a couple of times, feeling the arms that had wrapped around his chest, taking in the shattered glass that lay in front of him. Instinctively, his small arms wrapped around whoever had grabbed him away, his shock still rather evident. It was only when it clicked that the two people still standing in front of him were Isshin and Orihime, that he glanced up, only to confirm his suspicions.

The face that he was looking into, was that of Ichimaru's, and he could feel the man's breath from behind him, as he was pressed that close to his chest. For some reason the breathing was rather heavy, and thick, and Gin's body was also shaking for some reason or another. The man had lost that smirk of his, and his eyes had opened up, revealing the cold teal colored eyes. "Ne… you all right, Toshiro?"

Toshiro couldn't help, but fight back a lump in his throat, as things were not going as he had expected. His idea would have been that it would have been one of the other two that would have pulled him out of that situation, not the man that he had come to loath, and hate. Simply for the reason that he had that small fear, about why Gin had brought up the pictures in the locket.

Isshin was staring at the top of the tree. "Something is around here, we need to figure out what it is…"

Gin at that point let the small taicho go, and set him under a tree without anything decorations on it, and then nodded his head in agreement. "We'll go look, Shiro-chan…"

"So all three of you are going to leave me again!" came the small boys reply, his face contorted from the fact that he didn't want to be left alone in a place like this, not in this condition.

"Shouldn't angels have special healing abilities or something?" Gin suddenly turned his head to Orihime. "You could work on healing him, while we go look, right?"

"Oh… ahh, yes…" Orihime gave a weak smile, then went and sat down in front of the small taicho, and called out her healing abilities. Except, all six of her little friends were dressed rather Christmas like. The male that was known for giving Orihime her fighting abilities, shook a bell in her face.

"See this woman!" the small man stated. "Nothing! No sound! How long is it going to be until this bell can ring and you can get your stupid wings, so you can prove to that Ichigo angel person that you are the one to be his soul mate."

This caused Toshiro to place two fingers in his ears, as this had reminded him of the fact that he had, while in the living world, picked up on Orihime's crush on the substitute soul reaper. Because now, as Orihime was healing him, she has started to babble all about Ichigo. Normally, Hitsugaya didn't mind hearing about him, but this was completely romantic mush.

Suddenly, as Orihime smiled at him, a red blur came out of nowhere, and the girl suddenly fell unconscious to the ground. A small figure stood there, it's arms crossed across her rather flat chest. The white haired taicho, who had happened to have his ears plugged just stared at the girl, his eye suddenly twitching, completely not believing his poor luck.

"I, the Christmas Devil, have won against the Christmas Angel, and now I can take my official place on top of the Christmas Tree!" the female stated, dressed her red pointed tail, wagging back and forth, a sprig much like the Arrancar had in her hair, tied to the tip of her tail. Her clothing was also a pair of short shirts, and a sleeveless top that revealed her midriff.

Suddenly, she turned to Toshiro, who still had his eye twitching from the shock of the whole matter. She stomped one of her slightly heeled boots, and her gloved hands went to her hips. "What is your problem?"

"Karin-chan?" Toshiro's eye was still twitching, as he took in the devil horns in the raven hair. When he got out of this dream world, wherever he was, he was going to make it so that Matsumoto had a lot of paperwork, for placing ideas into his head about liking a certain someone when he didn't, because now his subconscious was acting upon it.

"Ehh… oh, it's you Toshiro," the girl smiled, placing her hands behind her head.

"You… didn't… recognize… me…" Toshiro's small eye twitched.

"Well, you're not wearing that captain's thing anymore… you're wearing a badge like Matsumoto. Did you get demoted?" the girl watched as he carefully stood up.

His eye twitched at her comment. "Did I get demoted! What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, I wanted a rank up, so I took out a Christmas Angel…" Karin suddenly stated, glaring at Orihime.

"Because…" one teal eye twitched.

"Because , I'm a Christmas Devil! I want to be on top of the tree too!" Karin suddenly turned so that her back was facing him, and her tail suddenly wagged in his face, trying to emphasize the fact that she was a little devil, and Christmassy to boot. The tail tip was right under his nose, and caused his cheeks to suddenly flush, making him curse his mind.

"You still shouldn't have knocked her out…" Toshiro sighed."

"Ehh…" Karin suddenly turned, and stuck her face strait into his, causing the flush to grow. "I just noticed something, you have white hair and green eyes… that means that you're a demon too, right?"

"Ehh… hell no!" Toshiro stated, his chest suddenly feeling a twinge at her words, remembering some of the times back in his home in the rukongai when people would go and call him such things. "_The real Karin wouldn't say such mean things, would she?_"

His thoughts were suddenly startled out of, as Karin suddenly glomped him, and her face came close to his. "That must mean that we're soul mates, right?"

"_She's fucking to close! In real life, she wouldn't act like this! My stupid, stupid head… I'm becoming a pervert like Kyoraku Taicho! I don't want that!_" Toshiro's whole body shook, and his body tensed up.

"You might be shorter than me, but…" Karin's face was moving closer, but suddenly she found herself yanked away, and held up by the back of her top, clear of the ground.

"What do you think you're doing young lady?" Isshin grumbled as he looked at the little she devil in the face.

"I was going to kiss him, duh!" the girl stated firmly.

"I don't know who you are, but…"

Isshin was interrupted by her sticking out her tongue at him. "I'm his soul mate, duh! We're going to eventually get married.

"Is this true Shiro-chan?" Gin suddenly appeared out of nowhere, tilting his head to the side, shaking it with mirth.

For some reason, the small taicho lost it, and his face flushed a vivid coloring. He attempted to not look at Gin. "I'm not a pervert…"

"I didn't say you were…" Gin sighed, stepping a little closer to the small taicho.

Hitsugaya felt his nose suddenly itch, and his hand instinctively went up to wipe it, yet when he pulled it away, he suddenly saw blood on the back of his left hand, causing his eyes to go wide. "I am a pervert! I don't want to be like Kyoraku Taicho!"

This caused him suddenly to be yanked up by Gin, who glared at him, face to face, his aura growing dark. "Shiro-chan! Can't you control one point in this dream, and get it through your head about some of these things!"

"But…" Toshiro's eyes were rather wide, and he shivered as he was being forced to look the man straight in the face. A bit of fear welled up. But as soon as that had shown, he found himself being set down, and Gin pulling him close.

"Gomenasai… " the man stated, completely unexpected by the man.

Isshin scratched his head. "And, we had better also get going. We've got a mission to take care of."

_Author's note - Poor Toshiro's mind… or subconscious, its playing with him. No, Karin wouldn't act like that. And if one hadn't noticed… Dream Isshin doesn't know Dream Karin, because Toshiro doesn't know that Isshin and Karin are even related, otherwise their conversation would have gone more along the lines of lecturing both of the two kids._


	8. Red Haired Shingami

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Red Haired Shingami~**

Keeping an eye and taking care of Toshiro in his inner world should have been easy. Toshiro had always been easy to deal with before. That was before the time he up and left the two people he cared about, causing them to have to pick up the pieces. Yes, the fact that he could see them having to pick up these pieces, he found to hurt.

Especially when he ended up finding that the small taicho had definitely grown up somewhat since he had last seen the boy. The fact that he had that incident with a girl his age, was sign enough for Gin that things had changed since he had last seen the white haired boy. He also had to wonder who exactly the little girl was.

Also, as funny as he would have normally found the arguments between the two, it had become evident that the small taicho was in truth simply arguing with himself, about whether or not he liked this Karin-chan person. It was obvious to Gin, that Toshiro, who tended to be aloof about girls for the most part, actually did have a crush on her.

Every so often, the former third division captain had to step in, and pull the two of them apart. The one good thing about this was Toshiro was finally walking on his own. The problem was, it wasn't just because of arguments that caused the man to have to pull them apart, and these things were causing the small taicho to freak out.

Not to mention, act completely childish about the whole matter at hand. He had never seen the small boy act like this, not since he was around the age physically of a three year old. That… was a memory that he tended to push aside. Though… seeing him acting his age was great, the frustration that went with it, didn't work.

Suddenly, Inoue-chan spoke up. "Hey, there is a group of people over there!"

Gin glanced over, and saw thirteen different people standing there. He rolled the eyes at the idea of having more company in this matter, and tugged on Toshiro's sleeve, just as the boy dodged another glomp from Karin. "I think we should go and see what is going on… don't you think?"

Thus, the five of them quickened their step, and arrived at the group, and Gin couldn't help but wince as he recognized every single one of them there. His Adam apple bobbed down, as he glanced over the thirteen lieutenants of the Gotei Thirteen, including the former Shiba. As he looked, his eyes suddenly fell upon Renji's normally red hair.

He had to blink twice, and realize another Christmas element had somehow worked its way into Toshiro's dreaming state. How it was at all possible, he didn't know, but Abarai's hair was blinking on and off like a red light bulb. This caused him to look at Toshiro, who was glaring at the thirteen that were standing there.

"Taicho!" came Matsumoto's squeak as she rushed forward. She paused to glance at Isshin, then back at Toshiro. "Ehh… two taicho's…"

This caused Toshiro to fold his arms across his chest. Isshin gave a weak smile. "We're on a special mission…"

"Ahh," suddenly, Rangiku glomped the small taicho, and hugged him close to her bosom. "I find this taicho a lot more huggable!"

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro stated, trying to pull away.

"What is… Ichimaru Gin doing here…" Izuru suddenly asked, only to have Momo pull him towards her, as Matsumoto let go of her small taicho, to glare straight at Gin, her eyes seriously cold. Gin avoided her look, and continued to pay attention to Izuru and Momo, in time to see them kiss. In fact, it became apparent to Gin, that Toshiro saw it, as the boy quickly dodged behind Gin, peeking out from behind.

"Gin! Are you trying to kidnap my taicho!" Matsumoto suddenly snapped. Gin couldn't help but think about the fact that Toshiro was looking for a reason for Ran-chan to beat him up, subconsciously that is. He found him shunpooing around the crowd, as two people he felt were least likely to make out were.

"Ne! Shiro-chan! It looks like Kaien is alive too!" Isshin stated, pointing at the thirteenth division fuku-captain.

As Gin moved, he suddenly found himself tripped by Iba, and forced to the ground. He then felt Matsumoto on top of him, pounding her fists into his chest. "I hate you! I hate you! Why did you have to do this to me! Why did you always have to run away!"

"Rangiku…" Gin tried to reason with the fake Matsumoto.

"My Christmas wish…" Matsumoto suddenly stated, catching the man off guard. "I wish that you had never gotten close to Aizen. Why did you have to let him drive a wedge between us!"

"Ran… I didn't mean… seriously… you never had a problem with him being my taicho… that wasn't what…" the silver haired man continued to cover his head. "_That wasn't what drove us apart… it was…_" His eyes suddenly darted over to where Toshiro was standing, and he was completely surprised to find the boy looking at him, and the look on his face…

Well, that look was hard to describe. Hitsugaya had regained some of his childishness. Perhaps that was what this sickness was about, turning it's victims into a weak state, so that they could be manipulated. Those two teal eyes, they were filled with a great amount of sadness, and they were beginning to cry. "Shiro-chan… do you think that solving mine and Ran's problems is as simple as that! It's Momo who was that infatuated with him!"

This snapped the small boy out of his trance that he had somehow gone into. He surged forward, and grabbed onto Matsumoto's sleeve. "Ran-chan! Stop! Hitsugaya doesn't like it when you and Gin-kun fight! Please! Stop!"

At that, the fake Matsumoto pulled away, and Gin sat up. He got a good look into Toshiro's eyes, and found there, to be a good deal of anger, and that anger was being placed towards him. However, Isshin suddenly popped up next to him. He pointed out towards a huge fortress that had appeared. "Shiro-chan… Santa's castle… we are almost there…"

Gin got up, and glanced around, irritated that Toshiro's mind was fragmenting like it was. That was what he figured was going on. He suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve, and glanced down at the boy, who was more than a foot shorter than he was. "What is it kiddo?"

"Don't get Hitsugaya wrong. Hitsugaya hates you. But Hitsugaya hates seeing Rangiku upset even more," the boy murmured, and glared at the crowd that was advancing towards the castle. The very stupid castle.

"Toshiro-kun… you're talking in third person," Gin sighed, placing a hand on the boy's head.

This caused the small boy's eyes to blink a couple of times. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

"Don't let this dream get to you, Shiro-chan…" the man sighed, walking beside the boy. He watched as the Karin girl tried to glomp him again.

**M**

Isshin had been watching through the night, and he was becoming more and more worried. Not only had Toshiro not come out of his state of mind, but Gin was also in a similar state of mind. Urahara told him that all that they could do was wait this thing out, at least until he could figure out whether or not he could figure out the foreign substance out.

The small boy was curled up in Gin's lap. Normally the former taicho would have found this adorable, the two of them sleeping, except for the fact that , Toshiro's face was still twisted in pain. It had been that way for two whole days, with the boy's two small hands clutching onto the front of Gin's clothing. They were tight, from the way they clutched on, white and pale.

Isshin personally hoped that this didn't last much longer, from his own medical background, because the implications of what this kind of state would have on the two's bodies was definitely not good, if they went on like this for a few days. However, Unohana had said he could possibly synthesize something by the next evening.

Glancing out, he let out a sigh, and realized that a whole day had passed, and in truth, he hadn't gone back to his clinic as he had planned. He wasn't sure what to think, and closed his eyes, to try to get a few winks, only to hear a commotion from the front. He didn't really want to know what was going on, but he tensed as he heard his son's voice, and those of his friends.

"Unohana… we heard that Gin went missing from his prison cell. It is all ready the twenty first," Rukia's voice quipped.

"The situation is taken care of," the peppermint hat man sighed. "Taken… care… of…"

"No it isn't!" Ichigo stated. "When we got back, Rukia looked at her soul phone, and found a message from Rangiku that Toshiro was missing! She is in hysterics, because no one has been sent since him, and she is thinking Gin killed him."

"Quiet! Please!" Unohana stated, "The state he's in right now might…"

Isshin glanced back at where Gin and Toshiro were, and suddenly was completely taken by shock at the fact that Gin's eyes were open, and Toshiro was thrashing in his arms. "Gin… what happened!"

"I don't know… I just got kicked out… even his imaginary friends in there…" Gin bit back his words as he heard the door slide open. He tried to hold the small boy still, as his sick body kick and flailed. Staring right at them was the substitute soul reaper.

"What the hell… dad…" Ichigo glanced over at his father, then the man that was trying to keep the small boy calm. His eyes turned dangerous. "What the hell is Ichimaru doing to Toshiro!"

"I'm not doing anything! It's the stupid poison that was on those stupid thorns!" Gin hissed, just in time to see the Kuchiki girl peek from behind Ichigo.

"No… it can't be…" Rukia suddenly held up her hands, ready to take a well-placed aim at Ichimaru's head.

"Do the two of you trust me or not!" Isshin snapped, irritated with the two of them. "Both of you, get to the house! I've been so focused on keeping an eye on Gin and Toshiro, while Urahara does his research, Karin and Yuzu were by their selves! I know that is poor parenting, but get your ass in gear Ichigo!"

"I'll go…" Rukia stated, glaring at the old man. "I think someone owes you some answers…"

"Dad… you are dressed in Shingami clothing…" Ichigo stated.

"I used to be a shingami captain, until Aizen sealed my powers. Your gaining powers awakened mine. Now isn't the time," Isshin stated, standing up.

"Hell as if it is!" Ichigo made a move towards Gin. "I am not going to let him hurt Toshiro!"

"If it weren't for Gin, Toshiro would likely be dead by now!" Isshin grabbed his son's arm, stopping him.

"My ass! If Gin hadn't broken out of his jail cell, then …"

"Gin! Get back into Toshiro's inner world!" Isshin snapped. "Try to stop those seizures from there!"

"How can you do this!" Ichigo turned on his father. "Letting that man go into Toshiro's inner world!"

"Because, we have no choice, Kurosaki," Urahara frowned. "Gin is the only one…"

"Don't… don't give me that he is the only one…" Ichigo snapped.

"Stop! It's making it worse! I got kicked out when he heard the yelling!" Gin snapped back. "I don't know what will happen if I don't get back in, and if you stop me, and he dies, I will personally hold you responsible. I don't care if you are Isshin-san's precious son, I will kill you."

"Dad…" Ichigo suddenly looked at his old man, completely taken by shock, only to be drug out of the room by his arm. However, he found himself pulled out of the room.

_Author's note - Hmm… one more chapter dealing with poor Toshiro's dream. Will it end there… not likely… _


	9. Hollowfied Santa

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Hollowfied Santa~**

* * *

Toshiro and Gin were both counting the number of people that they had, as they approached the castle, and they found it to be and overly large group. There was the two of them, the thirteen fukutaicho, and three people who lived supposedly in the living world. That made it for a total of eighteen people that were approaching the castle.

Toshiro felt his eyebrow twitch. "Seriously… what is the lack of stealth here?"

"What!" Abarai suddenly yelled, as did the fukutaicho of the second division, and the one of the seventh.

"I think that castle is based off of one of Mayuri Taicho's possible redesigns for the lab," Nemu suddenly blurted out.

This caused the small boy, to let out a sigh. This of course meant that his mind, had in fact, gone and provided traps for him and this group to get around. He just wanted to get through this place, and to simply wake up from this ongoing nightmare. It was a complete pain in the neck, and he wondered if he was going insane.

Wasn't Santa's castle, supposed to be more cheerful, more colorful. He suddenly jumped, as Karin suddenly grabbed onto his arm. "I'm scared."

"My ass you're scared!" the boy snapped. "Please… you kicked a soccer ball at my head, of all things, even though you could have possibly have sensed my spiritual rietsu before you did it!"

He didn't notice that Gin was in fact watching the two of them carefully, trying to access the situation between the two. That wasn't until he picked a rather irritated, and frustrated aura coming off of the man. As he glanced at the man, he suddenly jumped as Karin whispered into his ear. "If I act scared, you'll let me be near you!"

Gin let out a sigh, grabbed the small Christmas Devil, and handed her off to Matsumoto. "Can you explain this?"

"Taicho was stalking her in the living world!" the woman blurted out, a smile on her face, which quickly turned to a frown. "Though _that_ … is none of your business."

"I was _not _stalking her in the living world Matsumoto!" Toshiro protested, then stormed off, with the group into the castle. Everything was rather dark, and the sound of their footsteps fell hollow. He folded his arms, and glanced at Isshin. "What next?"

"What next? Well, we go rescue…" However, his old taicho was quickly interrupted by the fact that a rumbling sound suddenly came. What little light there was, showed that the stones were crumbling, and heading towards them. And just as quick as that happened, all of them were falling, into complete darkness, somehow being separated from each other.

"_Baka! You can use shunpoo! You can…_" Toshiro stated, as he hit the ground, hard. He glanced around his surroundings, which were a complete pitch black, but then they began to light up. There was nothing above him hole wise, just a ceiling, so he didn't know where he had come from. He also heard some yelling.

Walking forward, he found himself puzzled at this kind of yelling, and continued forward. "_Those are the voices of Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki… they weren't with the group…_"

"We hear that Toshiro went missing from his prison cell. It is all ready the twenty forth," came Rukia's voce. This caused Toshiro to stop in his tracks, and start backing the other way, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"_What did I do wrong?_" The small boy stated. He stuck to the rules almost strictly, and had no problem beside the event with Kusaka. He had to get away from there.

"The situation is taken care of," came another voice… this one was belonging to Urahara. "Taken… care… of…"

Then came Ichigo's voice. "…found a message from Ran thinking Toshiro killed him."

Toshiro's mind race. When they were fighting earlier, had he actually killed someone. He heard Urahara speak up again. "The state he's in right now… he's become a monster… not someone that we know… it's too late… we'll have to kill him…"

At that, Toshiro felt like he was going to vomit. What was it that he had done, that made it so that three of those he considered his friends, wanted to kill him. He winced at the word friend, realizing that he almost never used the word, and really should have used it more often. He suddenly turned, and began to flee back down a corridor.

His body was quaking, and he felt that he couldn't trust anything that he saw or heard. This caused him to begin to shake, the fear taking over his body. He tried running faster, but found it hard for his breath to come to him.

"_Someone… please… please help me… I don't want to be stuck here forever. I want to see the sky again, the real sky. I want to see the real Matsumoto, the real Karin… this is just a dream, right? I want Momo and Granny… someone…"_ Toshiro suddenly stopped, his breath panting.

"Hitsugaya?" came a voice from behind him, one he recognized. Gin's… he started walking forward, trying to get away, his body still shaking. "Chibi-taicho? Shiro-chan! Stop!"

"No… can't trust…" the small boy muttered, continuing to shake, only to find his arm grabbed by Ichimaru, and for him to be spun around. "No! Don't…"

"I won't hurt you…" the man placed another hand on the boy's head, in the thin hair.

"Yes, you will. They all will… I overheard them… yelling…" Toshiro stated.

"Toshiro… I need you to come with me… so we can find…" Gin of course, was the last person that he wanted to trust, and he pulled away from the man, and hurried down the hallway, with him keeping right on his heels. He had hoped that something would come up between him, but with his luck, it was his dream that was trying to torture him, not the other way around.

His sandaled feet beat a steady rhythm as he continued to try to get away from the man, to try to escape his dream world. Normally, his feet would have been silent, but he had in truth, enough of all of this, and he just wanted to go home, to start having normal dreams again, if he could call the ones he had before normal. Well, compared to this, they were.

He was also heading away from where the voices had been coming from, and sped into a huge, round circular area, Gin almost crashing into him, if it weren't for the fact that he had expecting that. He was more concerned with the fact he was being chased, so he dodged to the side at the last minute, and it was Gin who was left staring at the entire room.

At that point, Toshiro's eyes darted around, looking for an exit, but found that even the entrance that they had come through was now gone. This caused him to look up, and the small boy saw a huge hole in the roof. "Not again…"

"Toshiro…"

"Stay away from me…" the boy stated, suddenly hurrying off to the other side of the room.

"Stop it…" Gin's face was minus one of his customary grins, and his eyes were open, actually revealing a pale, cool teal color.

Toshiro though, wished to keep the man as far away from himself as possible, when they both heard the jingling of bells. This caused Toshiro to glance up, and his mouth twitch, as he saw a sleigh come down, without the reindeer. It landed there, and it stayed put, and he couldn't see the face of the man who had just landed.

"Damn it Isshin… weren't we supposed to _save _Santa… he looks fine…" the boy muttered, turning back to looking for an exit, and a way to get out of the dream.

"Toshiro, get away from him!" He suddenly heard Gin say, from the other side of the sleigh. The small boy heard the person getting out of the sleigh, and stepping, carefully towards him. This surprised Toshiro, and he suddenly tried to turn around, only to be grabbed around the neck by a bony hand.

"Gin! Let…" However, his eyes went wide, as he saw a very upset Gin shunpoo in front of him.

"Kiddo… your dreams are just downright bizarre!" the man stated, concern possibly etched in his voice. No, this was Gin, and he never really was that way. He brought up his hands to do a bit of kido, but the other person was faster, and used a binding spell on him. "Shiro! Get away from him!"

However, struggle as he might, Toshiro found that he couldn't get away from the man, and as he twisted about, the man turned him to face him, and the sight caused him to let out a terrified scream. "Who the hell are you!"

"I am Santa Clause…" the skeleton face laughed.

"No you're not! You're… you're Baraggan…" the boy sputtered out. "You were the second Espada!"

"I used to be Santa you know," the man stated, as he shook the small boy by the neck, laughing manically. It in fact, looked like Baraggan had once been Santa Clause, as instead of the kings like clothing he had heard Soifon describe him having, he had a Santa outfit.

"Sheesh… chibi taicho… you need to curb your imagination a bit," he heard Gin grumble, as the man tried to get loose of the kido. "Let me ask you, how is an Espada supposed to know Kido? Huh?"

"That is a good question," two teal eyes glared at the man.

"Because I used to be Santa before I became hollowfied," the old man laughed, sending shivers up the two male's backs.

"Gin!" Hitsugaya hissed, feeling that the man wasn't helping things.

"You're dream kiddo, your logic, not mine… mine would have said… Santa become hollow, Santa lose Kido ability,"

"But this isn't a dream," the skull faced man laughed. "It is in fact reality."

"Ah posh it's not," Gin argued. "Don't even begin to believe this guy."

Toshiro opened his mouth to speak, only to find him shaken by the man. "You know… I wouldn't have been turned hollow, if you had just simply believed."

"Believed in what!" the small boy snapped, trying to kick out with his feet, to no avail.

"Let me think, you never believed in me, you never believed in Christmas at all," the man stated. "You would just sit back, and let it go by, every year, taking soul enjoyment in watching others enjoy the season, but never really enjoying it yourself."

"Shut the fuck up!" Toshiro snapped, wiggling again, trying to break free, however, he stopped as the grip on his neck could possibly break it.

"I won't shut up. Why didn't you believe in me? I could have granted your Christmas wish," the man chuckled.

"My Christmas wish… you really think you could have granted my Christmas wish..." Two teal eyes narrowed.

"Toshiro… don't listen to him," Gin sighed.

"Of course… Santa can grant any Christmas wish," the man stated.

"That isn't true, and if Santa were real, even he would know that there is a limit to his power," Toshiro stated. "I refuse to believe in you! You can't grant wishes that lie in impossibilities."

"With Santa, there is no impossibility," the man laughed.

"Yes, there is," Hitsugaya's voice lowered. "Ever since I was a child, I wondered, what my parents were like. How come I of all people, had the luck of not remembering them. Hinamori knew her parents for some time, yet there I was, trying to fish up some memory of them. My Christmas wish, is to find my parents that don't even exist anymore!"

"Don't worry… I can send you to your death so you can see them," the man laughed. "Respira…"

At that, Toshiro felt his body being covered with a miasma, and he felt a chocking sensation, and then complete darkness.

Suddenly, Kurosaki's voice reached him. "Come on Toshiro. I think it is time for you to wake up. You look ready…"

And with that, he began to open his eyes, for real this time.

_

* * *

_

Author's note - So, Toshiro is finally going to wake up…


	10. Awakening

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Awakening~**

The two Kurosaki males had chosen not to speak with each other. Ichigo had to admit, that he was quite bitter about everything that had happened. Nothing at all, was making any sense at all. That was, except for the fact that it was dangerous to interfere with what Ichimaru Gin was doing. In one way, Toshiro's life depended on it, and the threat that the man had levied at him was something he had never felt before.

Ichigo leaned up against the wall, having made a promise to his father to do nothing, while he headed home, to prepare the clinic for the next morning. There was no telling what kind of complaints, that Isshin would get for not having opened up today. In some ways he hoped that his dad would be lectured by his patients, and in some ways not. But the old grannies would be fun to watch.

As he thought about his father and his attitude towards him, he remember that he had sensed that kind of feeling from his old man before. Yet it had a more positive vibe, the times that he could remember, one that was less threatening. The thing was, he really couldn't put a finger on what all was going on here, which in truth was frustrating to say the least.

As he sulked, he suddenly heard a slight moving from inside of the room, and slid the door open, rather quickly. Everything was as it had been left, with Gin holding Toshiro carefully in his lap, his chin resting upon the small boy's head, as they both slept the time away, trapped in some ways in Hitsugaya's inner world.

Ichigo walked over, and took a seat, watching them carefully, and shook his head at the fact that Toshiro was still not awake, and wondered how the small taicho would react to finding himself sleeping in Ichimaru's lap. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, he knew that he would find himself laughing at the matter.

His eyes suddenly glanced down at Ichimaru Gin's hand, which had an open locket clutched into it. Ichigo suddenly raised an eyebrow, upon seeing that there was a picture of both Matsumoto and Toshiro in there. The one with Matsumoto there, was much neater cut, and fit better. Why both were in there, Ichigo couldn't himself be sure.

Gin's reaction, had been so much like his fathers, when it came to protecting their kids. This caused Ichigo to inwardly laugh. "_As if Ichimaru and Matsumoto would be Toshiro's parents… that is ridiculous._"

"_I don't think it is…_" his inner hollow laughed. "_I think the idea is awesome, not to mention psyc… psyc…_"

"_Psychologically damaging…_" Ichigo imputed to the _thing._ His head and posture though, shot up straight, when he began to notice Toshiro wiggling a bit.

"Come on Toshiro. I think it is time for you to wake up. You look ready…" Ichigo couldn't be sure if this would actually come to work. In fact, he actually had his doubt that it would. However, when two teal eyes opened, to peer at him, a smile broadened on his face. "Toshiro… you're awake!"

"Who are you?" the boy asked, causing Ichigo's face to suddenly fall, until the small boy slapped the palm of his hand against his face, and then shook his head. "Gomenasai… you're Kurosaki Ichigo, substitute soul reaper. How can I help you?"

"Toshiro…" the teenager's mouth suddenly twitched at the oddity of the small boy's words.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro… I mean, Hitsugaya Taicho…" the boy blinked a couple of times.

"I see that you are still rather out of it," came the soft chuckle.

"Ne… where did taicho go?" the small boy wiggled a bit, not yet realizing he was in some ones, lap, but then he did realize, and again shook his head. "Sorry, it was Isshin-san taicho who has been taking care of me while I was out of it?"

"Ehh… you mean to say, that the person who happens to have… that you're sitting in the lap of?" Ichigo's mouth twitched again, having a feeling that Toshiro was going to blow up. "He actually… isn't here…"

"But that means he is definitely alive, and that I wasn't imagining things?" came Toshiro's response. His tone has suddenly turned a tad cheerful. He then scowled just as quickly. "Kurosaki… it isn't my former taicho who has a hold of me, then whose lap am I sitting in? Why the hell am I sitting in anyone's lap?"

"As for why you are sitting in someone's lap, you'll have to ask Urahara that one," Ichigo nearly bit his tongue, not wanting to say the next part.

Toshiro waited a few seconds, then began to move around. Kurosaki could only watch as Toshiro's body moved, then turned to look up at the person. The reaction, as soon as Toshiro saw him, was something else. First, his teal colored eyes narrowed, and then widened. His jaw began to tremble, and he pushed himself away.

Ichigo watched as Toshiro quickly scuttled backwards from where he had been, and in some sort of irony ended up sitting in the older boy's lap. This caused the substitute soul reapers eyes to suddenly narrow. "Umm… Toshiro… usually you care a lot more about your reputation, don't you?"

"Ahh…" Toshiro almost glanced up, but his eyes remained fixed on Ichimaru, and he pressed up against Ichgio. "Pedophile…"

"And that would be why he has a picture of you and Matsumoto in that locket of his," came the dry words.

"Ehh… when I gave him that locket, it only had Matsumoto's picture in it," Toshiro began to wiggle uncomfortably, his eyes still on the man. Suddenly, a fist pounded him on the head.

"Why would you do something like that!" Ichigo snapped, having expected the small captain to be a lot smarter than that.

"Because… it was to make him think before he ran off again," the boy muttered.

"If he is a pedophile, why do you care?" If it weren't for that one accusation, Ichigo would have found the situation hysterical.

"I did it because Matsumoto's gloomy! And I didn't really figure him to be one, until he asked me why there wasn't a picture of myself in there! The only logical explanation is…" Toshiro suddenly froze, as one pale teal eye sprung open.

"So, chibi-taicho is actually awake finally…" Gin stated, causing two eyes of a more vivid teal color to glare back at him. "And I am not a pedophile… your logic as to why I am one, is flawed…"

Both of the young males watched as Gin began to lean on his arm, watching the small boy carefully, keeping his usual grin, though in truth, he happened to look a bit tiered. Ichgio shivered at how much the two of them looked alike. "So then, are you willing to tell me why it is flawed?"

"Are you willing to let me talk to you privately, or does the child prodigy of the tenth division happen to have a fear of me?" Gin stated, glancing away. His emotions were completely cold. Something kept running through his head though. "_My Christmas wish, is to find my parents that don't even exist anymore_." This caused him to blink a couple of times.

"Is something the matter?" Ichigo asked Gin, as he placed a hand on Toshiro's shoulder protectively. However, the white haired youth shrugged it off, and moved to sit by himself. He couldn't physically look up.

"Why would I be willing to talk to you privately. I don't know if I really can trust you," Toshiro murmured. "I even have to wonder, how is it that Urahara, Ichigo and Isshin-san taicho both trust you."

"Oh… I don't… it's the old men who do… which I found odd. They _let _Ichimaru go into your inner world," came the reply, completely unheld back.

"Kurosaki…" Toshiro's face suddenly paled, as he sat there, staring at Ichimaru Gin. "That… he…"

"Yes, I went into your inner world," Gin closed one of his eyes, and placed his arms behind his back. "Why do you think I was the only thing there agreeing with you that it was a dream?"

"Because you're always that contrary!" Toshiro suddenly yelled. "No one ever can tell what thing you're going to do next! No one knows, whether to believe what you say or not!"

"True… but I had a reason for making it so that people saw me that way," Gin smirked, switching the eyes. "You're funny Shiro-chan… worrying about something like that."

"I still can't believe that you were in my head," the small white haired boy stated, glaring at the man, his voice filled with disgust. "I mean, come on…"

"Come on… huh… ehh, think carefully about what happened while I was in there," Gin stated firmly.

Two teal eyes turned to the man, remembering the facts that had unfolded in his mind, no matter how chaotic they were. His eyes suddenly went wide, and he found himself stammering out. "You won't go and tell…"

"Go and tell… you mean, about like the fact that you _had _Matsumoto beating me up, when she showed up in your dream… or… other things?" the man raised an eyebrow at this, causing the small taicho to squirm. "Who's this K…"

"Don't!" Toshiro's face suddenly turned pale, and his two eyes suddenly darted over to the substitute soul reaper, without his face turning towards him. However, Ichigo turned to him, when he had heard the small cry of dismay, not to mention, the fact that it sounded like Toshiro didn't want for the whole thing to be blabbed out, whatever Gin was going to say. The small taicho's body… it could be seen that he had suddenly tensed up.

"Names that start with that sound," Ichigo stated firmly.

"Your last name," the silver haired man smirked. "And…"

"Don't you dare!" Toshiro suddenly growled, his body tensing in a different manner. Teal orbs happened to have a panicked gleam to them, as they stared at the older shingami. Well, ex-shingami.

"Don't I dare what…" Gin stated firmly, narrowing his eyes.

"Kurosaki…" Ichigo blinked a few times. "Ne… it wouldn't happen to be my little sister Karin, would it?" A gagging sound was suddenly heard from Toshiro, as his mouth twitched. The sound actually caused Ichigo to look at him again. "Sorry…. I'll try for a different name…"

"Please don't bother…" Toshiro chocked out. "He is a person who likes to poke and prod at people, and make them squirm, and completely uncomfortable."

"All right… all right… I'll stop prying," Ichigo stated, suddenly turning to look at Ichimaru Gin, who was staring at Toshiro very carefully, a rather un-amused look on his face. He passed it off as the man not being pleased that Toshiro was playing along with his games, not realizing the look had appeared as soon as he had said that Karin was his sister.

"I need to get back, before Matsumoto throws a fit," the small taicho stated, suddenly standing up, only to find himself wobbling on his feet, then suddenly falling forward a bit. The one to catch him wasn't the substitute soul reaper, but a quick acting Gin. "Please… let go…"

"Gomen… Shiro-chan, but you really should get something to eat, shouldn't you?" the man stated. "Your rietsu got trashed good time, and you need to replenish it, don't you?" the man stated, suddenly running a hand through Toshiro's hair, only to have it irritably swiped away.

"Don't do that!" the white haired youth snapped. "I don't like it when Matsumoto does it either… or when anyone does it."

"What about your granny?" the man chuckled, a smile widening, if that was at all possible on his face.

"Granny doesn't count because granny is granny," the boy muttered, then found his eyes narrowing. "I haven't seen her since Kuchiki Taicho's sister was supposed to be executed…"

"Good grief Shiro-chan, that's been about six months roughly," the man shook his head, seemingly to pretend his dismay. "There is no way that they would let you go back to Soul Society until you recover some. I mean, it isn't as if you can't recover here, as well as you can there. That, and you have no serious injuries."

"Just these places that the ivy bit…" Toshiro pulled back his sleeve and suddenly paled. Wherever the ivy thorns had penetrated his clothing, there wasn't just a small open wound. A rash had spread out from it. "Please tell me… this isn't a form of poison ivy."

"Yes and no…" came the peppermint hat man's voice. "The poison's only effect is to cause that trouble with your dream world. What you are currently experiencing, is called a mild allergic reaction to the ivy." He walked over, and showed a place that was a little different. "This is a spot where a whole strand of the ivy touched your skin."

"Why me…" the boy muttered. "And why doesn't it itch?"

"Since you are actually coming awake, that means the other effect of the poison on the ivy will take effect. Not only will you feel the rash, but also… you'll feel every single one of those painful pricks. Hadn't noticed before?" the man's tone was dark.

"Why didn't you use healing kido…" Toshiro winced, not wanting for this to happen to him.

"Kiddo… healing kido can't counteract poisons that happen into the blood system. One has to still have antidotes. It is the same with allergies… one needs medicine to deal with it," the other older man suddenly laughed.

"Ichimaru… your commentary isn't appreciated," the small boy muttered, suddenly moving to be somewhat behind Urahara, his discomfort showing through. "Pe-do-file…"

"Oi! Stop that! It is starting to become overly annoying!" came the snapping reply. Gin shook his head. "Look… we really need to talk about some things. You need some medicine for that allergy, I need to find a Christmas present for Ran…"

"First, with what money, second… there is no present that you could give her that could mollify her," Toshiro stated.

"So, you don't think I would be smart enough to have something saved away in the living world? I have my own place," Gin stated.

"Isn't that against the rules?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes.

"I used it when I happened to come to the living world in the area, since this _was _one of the major places I happened to come to when I did come. I wasn't going to mooch off someone," the man stated firmly. "That is something Rangiku does…"

"Ehh… Orihime's place…" Toshiro felt his face twitch, a few things possibly running through his mind.

"Oh… and if you come help me, maybe I can find something to make her happy? Hmm? She told you her Christmas wish, didn't she?" the man folded his arms.

"As if I am going to simply tell you…" the boy muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't think it is a bad idea that Gin takes you. Whether or not you like it, I don't think people would look favorably on a kid buying any sort of medicine," Urahara stated.

"I could go with Toshiro," Ichigo stated.

"And the two of you would be mistaken for some miscreants from a gang… this works better, as I am busy," the man smiled, suddenly turning to leave. "Oh… and Kurosaki… don't you think your family is looking for you?"

_Author's note – It's been over a month since I've updated this one. I unfortunately got sick for a good portion of February, with a nasty cold, and had to play catch up with school. Oh well, hopefully I can start updating more frequently again. Anyways, for someone who is wondering why Urahara doesn't just whip something up, there is a reason for it… :)_


	11. Christmas Shopping: Part One

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Christmas Shopping (Part One)~**

Two teal eyes watched as a few snowflakes began to fall outside the bus window. The tense body they belonged to had unconsciously leaned up against the one thing on the crowded bus that was at all familiar. The mind of one Hitsugaya Toshiro was contemplating ways to harm certain individuals. Something told him that Urahara had purposely connived the trip, using tools at hand.

Was there really truly anything he needed to talk to the man who betrayed Matsumoto about? That would in fact be the other person he was irritated, and he was aroused from his thoughts as the man placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump away. "Shiro-chan, we're here."

Startled from his thoughts, the young man glanced up from the floor, then followed the silver haired man off the bus. He pushed his hands into his pockets. "Why did we have to come to Tokyo, when he could have done this just as easily in Karakura Town?"

"That would be because this way, I can guarantee our conversation is private." There was nothing sinister in Gin's tone, however, with this particular person, this meant nothing. He easily slipped into another subject, trying to change the subject. "Plus, the bus ride was fun, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps fun for you," the small boy's irritation was evident. He reached up to suddenly scratch, only to have a bony hand grab it. "And why does our conversation need to be secret? It makes it sound like you are plotting something… _again_…"

"I guess that would sound like I'm plotting something evil, and while I have to say I am plotting something, I also have to say, it isn't anything that is evil and world domination orientated." The man laughed as two white eyebrows rose up, as if the whole thing was a no brainer, and that he doubted the second part that had poured out of Gin's mouth. The man's smile only grew. "The conversation we're having is private, so only those you want to find out, do so. Does that make any sense?"

"In some ways yes, and in some ways no," Toshiro resisted the temptation to pull his hand out again to scratch the itch. His entire body ached and itched, but at least he so far didn't have _another _headache. "I can't imagine anything other than some evil plan that I might want to keep secret. You are the kind of person, who would try and intimidate people, to keep quite."

"Are you actual scared of me like that?" the tone and look almost seemed like Ichimaru had his feelings hurt by what the small boy had said. "However, considering who it was he was speaking about too, Toshiro choose to keep quiet, and not even bother to apologize or find out if this was the case. He simply followed the man, wherever they were going.

Gin came to the front door of what amounted to a small, family owned drug store, or so it seemed, and then went in. Toshiro quickly followed, and grimaced at the smell. It wasn't that the place was unclean, but that it was too clean. He watched carefully, as Ichimaru walked up to the counter. "What would you recommend for a minor allergic reaction that results in a rash?"

"Getting a prescription from a doctor," the man uttered, rather annoyed. "Go away. I don't need any sick jokes.

"It isn't for me," Gin hiked his thumb Toshiro's way, as the boy held his hands dejectedly in his pockets. "It's rather mild, and I'd rather not take him to see a doctor."

"You should take him to see a pediatrician," the man grumbled.

"Excuse me?" two teal eyes suddenly looked said person straight in the face, the small boy's voice cracking, rather irritated with the comment.

"A doctor should be able to tell you what caused it, the man glared, causing the small taicho's head to drop to the ground, and for him to fidget.

"We all ready know what he's allergic to," Ichimaru's mood began to turn dark. "Problem is, there are so many types, and…"

The man quickly muttered a brand name, and direction to look in. Gin took off, leaving Toshiro to glare at a display. The former taicho came back, and paid for the items. As they left, the glaring preteen turned to try an look in the bad. "How much did you buy?"

"Three tubes," Gin stated, handing the small taicho the plastic bag, which he placed over his arm.

"Isn't that too much?" Toshiro wrinkled his nose up, having a dislike for anything that could possibly relate to fourth division.

"Better safe, then sorry. It's all over your body, different spots," Gin stated, handing the bag to the white haired youth. "I don't know how much or how long you'll need to use it."

"Isn't it a onetime thing," Toshiro stated, only to have Gin open one eye and raise an eyebrow at him. This shut him up for a short period of time. He followed Gin around, until they came to a nicer shopping area.

The entire place was decorated much like Matsumoto liked to do to the office this time of year, yet this year, she really hadn't felt up to doing. There were also quite a few people bustling about. "Stay close to me, chibi-taicho, we don't want to get separated, do we?"

Two teal eyes narrowed at this, but refused to comment on what the man had said. He did in fact, stay close, window shopping with Ichimaru, much to his irritation. They had neared a small park, when he finally choose to speak up, as Ichimaru looked in a store window.

"You know the only thing that will fix things between you and Matsumoto, is to find some way to make up for the rift you caused," Hitsugaya saw his breath vaporize in front of his mouth.

"Who says the reason I'm getting her a Christmas gift, is because I am trying to fix things with her," Gin's bony fingers suddenly reached down to play a bit in the head of white hair, much to the boy's annoyance, who was still staring out the window. "I get her one every year. It's been tradition for some time. That's part of what the holiday is about."

"So says the person who missed her birthday this year," the boy grumbled, causing the hand to suddenly pull away, tense. "She's going to toss any gift you do give her, until you do fix your mess you've caused, and I don't see that happening."

"And why would that be?" Gin stated, folding his arms across his chest.

"Your going with Aizen caused a rift between you two," the small taicho stated, a bit of anger appearing on his face. "Everyone knows that, right?"

Aizen isn't what caused the rift. That started further back, then this whole betrayal of soul society thing. It's more of the thing that clenched it. I also don't exactly… how to put it, I know it needs to be on Rangiku's terms, if anything happens."

"I guess then, it's one of those things, it's none of my business, so I'm better off being polite, not asking. You still haven't explained what is so important, in order to drag me out here." The fact that Gin had said that there were things that they needed to talk about, hadn't escaped him.

"Actually, Shiro-chan, you could very well say that you are the rift between you and her, the man stated.

At this, Toshiro's own body suddenly tensed. His eyes grew wide, his mouth twisting into a half smirk, half grimace, as he wasn't sure what to think about the situation. "How immature. I know I'm a child prodigy, but personally, I don't think you should have seen me as a replacement for her."

"Hit…su…ga…ya…" Gin suddenly turned to him, his eyes suddenly wide, and looking straight at the small boy, a hint of mirth in him, and his smile changing shape a bit.

"What? I think it is a stupid reason for a friendship to go sour," the boy stated, a scowl appearing on his face. "Especially since I'm not worth it."

Ichimaru let out a sigh, then grabbed the small taicho's sleeve, slapping away the boy's hand, as he tried to scratch again. He shoved the small boy into a small bench at the park. "Sit here. Stay until I get back."

This behavior caused Hitsugaya suddenly to scowl at the ground, frustration written all over his face. He wanted to get back, as the itching was getting irritating, and he was tiered. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Toshiro?" This caused him to glance up, in time to see Gin holding a crepe and a cup of hot cocoa in each hand. He handed one handful to Toshiro, who had to use both hands. "It's been awhile since you've eaten something."

"Quit avoiding the subject Ichimaru." The glare suddenly drifted to the crepe.

"Well… you guessed wrong again. I've never been jealous of you," the silver haired man stated, his eyes remaining open for once.

Of course, Toshiro's face suddenly twisted up, as he looked at the man. "You mean… Matsumoto figured out you are a pedophile too?"

"Oi…" Gin turned his head towards the small boy. "How many times have I told you to _quit _calling me that? I am not one, and saying something like that in public could cause problems."

"Your behavior's weird," the small boy turned his glared at him. "You put my picture in that locket. You are being rather nice, getting me things. You are a pedophile."

"And you are annoying," Gin muttered, shaking his head. "Seriously, stop calling me that. Eat your food."

A rather miffed Toshiro took a bite of his crepe. "You are one to talk, considering you _love_ to annoy people."

"Karma… big time…" came the groan. Out of the corner of this eye, Toshiro watched as the man glanced up at the sky. "There are only a few flakes every now and then."

"That's a good thing, otherwise we'd be freezing our butts off, and we'd have to find somewhere else to talk," Toshiro took another bite. "Could we get to the point of why you need to talk to me?"

"Do you remember what I said to you, when you gave me that locket with Ran-chan's picture in it?" the man suddenly stated, folding his legs and relaxing.

"You flat out told me, there were things I was not ready to hear, for your own reasons," the boy stated.

"I changed my mind, for two reasons that came up while you were unconscious, and I entered your inner world," Gin's smirk suddenly turned into a grimace. "Three, if you count the fact that I would really like for you to stop calling me that word."

"So… the reasons are," Toshiro took another bite, rather bored with the conversation.

"the first is, when I told you I didn't think you were ready, it was partially because I didn't think you would understand. I hadn't realized though, how much you had grown, and that you had matured in some ways, since I was gone, and also after Aizen was defeated."

"Yet I get the feeling you don't think I'm quite old enough to understand still."

"No… I don't. You also probably wonder what right I have to make such a decision, but that's beside the point. For one thing, I might keep using it as an excuse, no matter how old you grow. Plus, the second thing made the decision for me."

"And what would that be?"

"Your Christmas wish," Gin's sudden statement caused Toshiro to stop eating, and suddenly store at the man.

"My… I don't have a Christmas wish…" his head shook in disbelief.

"Then what do you call, that little ranting spiel you gave scary Santa Clause," two pale teal eyes watched as the child glanced at the ground.

"There is no way such a wish could ever come true," Toshiro was half way through his own crepe, while Gin had only taken a few bites. "I also don't see how that could be a deciding factor. But then, with you, who knows."

"I wonder… is this something you've wished for, not just around Christmas time, but around times like this? Times that the idea of family ends up playing a role in what goes on?" The decorations were filled with many red and green all around, honed with metallic golds.

"Does it really matter what I want, Ichimaru? It never has." Gin tilted his head, listening to the sad tone in the man's voice.

"If something like that showed up in your dream world, messed up inner world, whatever you want to call it, it means it is likely important to you, bothering you, eating away and worrying you." Gin placed a hand on his shoulder, and then stopped Toshiro's hand began to scratch, and then went back to his shoulder.

Toshiro however, pushed the hand off. "Look… you don't have a reason to be worrying about my welfare."

"Actually, kiddo… I do?"

"That would be what? Because you wish to use me to get on Rangiku's good side," air blew through her nostrils. "Because, you did say, I'm the reason the rift between you formed. No way am I going to let that happen… you using me."

"I doubt that I could use you to get on her good side. I might also just make things worse," Gin let out a deep sigh.

"By what? Making her mad because you're trying to use me? Of course she wouldn't be happy with that." Toshiro was irritated.

"I know that, and I am not going to try and get on your good side, so quit with the reasoning. That in truth would be wrong of me. Out of you and Matsumoto, I hurt you the most."

A sudden chuckle came from the preteen's throat. "That's laughable Gin. I don't remember you doing such a thing."

"You were too young to remember. It is as simple as that," Gin ran a hand through his hair.

"How, the first time I met you was when I was in the academy," a white head of hair shock in disbelief.

"That… wasn't the first place we met," Gin tensed up, his voice straining.

"Not the… when was the first time we met? I mean…" Toshiro's two teal eyes suddenly went wide, as he was half way to taking another bite.

"I was there, Toshiro, when you first opened your eyes, and took a look at the world around you," Gin stated, suddenly causing Toshiro to pause, quite surprised.


	12. Christmas Shopping: Part Two

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Christmas Shopping (Part Two)~**

"Not the… when was the first time we met? I mean…" Toshiro's two teal eyes suddenly went wide, as he was half way to taking another bite.

"I was there, Toshiro, when you first opened your eyes, and took a look at the world around you," Gin stated, suddenly causing Toshiro to pause, quite surprised. Gin watched as the crepe went down from the boy's mouth, as his mind wrapped around what was going on, almost as if her were trying to find another meaning, but couldn't.

He finally let out a chocked reply. "Yeah right. I died, froze to death, then came to soul society, unless you meant you were the first person I saw when I got here…"

"So says the person whose inner world , is a plain of ice," Gin stated softly, his hands folded now in his lap, and his leg no longer crossed.

"You're lying!" Toshiro suddenly pulled away, so that he could directly face the man, irritated that this would come up, of all things. "This is one of those games, isn't it! I don't need this Gin! Please!"

The tone of the adult suddenly turned sad, a true sadness written all over his voice. "There is a little old lady, in the Rukongai, who would refuse to lie to you. She would tell you, I brought you to her, as a newborn babe. She is also the one who named you."

"Oh… and what else would granny tell me?" Toshiro's tone was full of irritation, and he hadn't take n another bite yet.

Gin, suddenly tensed up at this, at gave him a weak smile. "The best way to put it, she doesn't deserve to be my mother. No, let me rephrase that, as she defiantly deserves to be a mother. I don't deserve to have her for my mother. She deserves better, but then, you have an idea why I say that. I have to say, the one good thing I've ever done, has left you with her."

"In other words, you're saying that you didn't want me, right…" the small boy stated, pulling back and shaking his head.

"No… I was trying to say, where I was something she never deserved, you were something that she deserved, and she was blessed to have you," the man stated, raising his head towards the sky, taking in the big holy wreathes.

"As if I am really anyone special," came the shaking of his head. "Though… would grandma be able to tell me who my mother is, or is that something you'll have to tell me?"

One of Gin's eyebrow's suddenly rose up. "No… I lied to her about your mother dying in child birth. I doubt that she'd… wait. Why are you even needing to ask who your mother is?"

Toshiro's nose wrinkled up, as if he was slightly disgusted. His voice was also chocking, as he held back "That question makes me think you don't know for some reason. You had an affair with another woman. That's why I'm what caused the rift between you. I'm the result of that affair. Well, aren't I?"

The man's lips suddenly pressed back, as a short, stifled laugh escaped his lips, then burst out. "God… that's the funniest thing I've ever heard. I'll blow a little theory in that little theory of yours. If Rangiku thought you were some child I had in an affair, there would be no way in hell she would be accepting of you as she is."

"Why do I think you're only telling me that, because you want me to have a positive outlook on this," the small taicho took another bite of his crepe, with vigor, then spoke around the bite in irritation. "Then she doesn't know about me, and you got me away before she would know about me, simply because it was your attempt to hide the affair."

He watched as Gin stated at him for a few minutes. The man then spoke up, after contemplating what the child had said. "Can I ask, why you didn't make the guess that Matsudo is your mother. The two of you are rather close and attached to each other, so I figured that she would have been your first guess."

At that, Toshiro stopped eating again, and glanced down at the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing. His voice was becoming a tad more strained. "If Rangiku was, I would know, because I trust her enough to tell me."

A hand suddenly went and ruffled the boy's hair. "I guess that's fair then, to understand why you didn't realize who your mother is. That was really what I meant by needing to ask me who it was, nothing negative."

"But…" Toshiro glanced up, a few tears welling in his eyes, without him realizing. "How can a mother not know who their child is."

"How can Ran not know," Gin's hand wiped the boy's eyes, suddenly causing Toshiro to pull away, which also caused him to calm down some. "I told her, she gave birth to a baby girl that was dead. I made it so, she wouldn't go looking for you, and if she did, she would look for the wrong thing. Instinctively, I think she knows, but I really can't be sure. Your belief that you died, and came to soul society actually helps, else I think she would have told you something."

"This… this is why she avoids my birthday, isn't it? This is why she becomes depressed every year. I never noticed, but it really never coincided with Christmas, but my birthday…" A glazing came to the child's eyes.

"Unfortunately, yes. I've noticed it too," Gin stated, letting out a big sigh, and taking a drink of his hot cocoa.

"Then why, the hell, would you do this?" Toshiro's cheeks puffed out, irritation in his voice, as he tried holding everything back, yet it wasn't so bad, now that he had someone else's problem to focus on again.

"Simple, Aizen," came the bland statement.

"So you would do anything for him," the small boy's word was dark, and he wiped away the few lingering tears from his eyes, even though his voice was still stiff.

"He didn't tell me to give you up," Gin stated, glancing away. "IF he had known you were my child, he wouldn't have let me. I knew, before you were born, that you would be very special, that you would have high rietsu and high potential, a child genius too. That also meant, he would have wanted to use you, experiment on you, manipulate you. I would do, what I did, again, Toshiro."

"Then you can say that you've done two good things in your life?" The white haired youth's voice wasn't so sure of this, as he happened to have a self doubt, though this was normal for him, to have self doubts about his own self worth.

"Three, if you count how Ran and I met," Gin stated, suddenly seeing the tenth division's taicho's suddenly light up with interest, which was to be expected. "I think though… that one is only fair for Ran to tell you."

"Fair enough… I guess," two teal eyes still gave Ichimaru a wary look, and he tensed up. "What I don't understand is, why did a rift form?"

Gin's face suddenly turned to him, his eyes wide open, trying to read the child's thoughts. ""Well, for one thing, I didn't act like a person whose child died. That's always bother Rangiku, understandably though. I don't ever visit the grade I made. I wanted Aizen to thing that I was aloof. Plus, the day that Matsumoto first met you, she was likely visiting the grave."

"In other words, it is near where grandma lives? If so, I am glad you didn't get her hurt." Again, the preteen was more focused and concerned about someone else, though he wiped his eyes again. "Don't tell anyone I almost cried, ever."

"Ahh… so you noticed," Gin shook his head, a bit of mirth in his eyes. "Don't plan on it. Ran… when she found out she was going to have you, she realized that she could give a child what she never had, mother, father, family. Her dream was to do that with me. I think that my betrayal with everyone was the final straw of breaking that dream, finally and completely.

Toshiro made a face, that was slightly discouraged. "So, you don't think Ran and you will get back together?"

Ichimaru took a deep breath. "I knew that was a risk I was taking. Ran and I were young when you were born, still children ourselves, though older then you equivalently. I felt the alternative risk, Aizen was far greater. No… the chances are very slim. There are… other things I am more worried about.

Toshiro crumpled up the wrapped for his crepe. "I think the only thing that will make her happy, is to tell her the truth."

"Or, it could also make it far worse. Not for you, but me. I mean, I think it would make the two of you closer," Gin stated, then shoved his partially eaten crepe towards Toshiro. "Here…"

"You've eaten off of it," Toshiro narrowed his eyes, almost as if he wasn't sure to think of what Gin had done.

"Only a few bites. I'm not hungry, and unlike you," the man stated. As the boy opened his mouth, his stomach suddenly let out a large grumble.

"Fine…"

**M**

When they got on the bus to go back, they both happened to find, that the bus was a lot more empty. Toshiro's rietsu though, was still tense, and fluctuating his feelings, showing a negative outlook on what was going on, even if there had been a good conversation. He had nearly let out his feelings, but had managed to keep his cool, for the most part.

Gin watched him carefully, wondering if the child had any bit of animosity against him. Not that he really believed him, but he was more worried about what was going on in the boy's head, and whether or not he was actually being able to cope with what he had told him. Normally, Ichimaru's anxiety over this, would have brought on some odd whim.

Yet, he held back, knowing that it would likely just make the situation into something worse, or something negative that it might not already be. He took a deep breath, as he sat in the seat, with the boy simply sitting there, staring out at nothing. Every so often, Hitsugaya would reach up to itch, only to have his hand pulled away.

"_He's to quite. Hit him on the head_," that voice stated in Gin's head, suddenly annoying the man.

"_Yeah… and then make him think we his father are even more psychotic than ever_," came the reply of Gin's zampaktuo.

"_No… good parents spank…_" the other thing hummed.

"_What are you two doing?_" Gin closed his eyes, listening to his two so called _friends _had their debate. "_I don't want him to see me that way, if possible…_"

"_Don't you think it is a bit late for that?_" the hollow suddenly asked, curling up to go to sleep. "_The kid is just as mental as you are… so, don't you think you should try using some logic about what you would do?_"

"_I have to agree, Gin… while we both agree, acting crazy isn't the option, you shouldn't just hold back on what you need to do_," the zampaktuo stated, emphasizing that the two had been trying to make some sort of point.

"_I've done what I need to do, and that was to stay away. I have no right, as his father to step in, and meddle._"

"_I wasn't thinking about it being your right_," the zampaktuo sighed. "_I was thinking it was more of what you owe him, for keeping this secret from him, and keeping him from his mother. Ran-chan, you admit, makes an awesome mother…_"

"_That pause was a thought towards her drink…_" Gin was shaken from his thoughts though, as he suddenly felt a thump on his side, and he glanced over, as he heard a soft snoring. He saw that Hitsugaya had fallen asleep, and was now leaning up against him. No being able to resist, he wrapped one arm around the boy to support him, and make sure he didn't fall, when the bus came to a stop.

_Author's note – Ahh… I updated with two chapters. Actually, it was supposed to be one, but it would have been way to long, in comparison with the other chapters… :)_


	13. Unexpected Guest

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Unexpected Guest~**

As he lay in his inner world, resting, and enjoying the fact that it was a plain once again, and not a desert, he felt his body becoming less tiered, yet this was hard to go away. While it was no longer comprised of sand, his world definitely was still a tad warmer then he would have liked it to be. This caused him to curl up further into Hyorinmaru's coils.

Suddenly, the dragon nudged him. "It is time to wake up."

"I really don't want to," Toshiro stated, his tone quite calm. "It's nice and bright in here. Out there, the world is dim."

"That is because that is the way you choose to see it, not that is the way that the world is. You can't go and hide from things, that's what Hinamori-san did, remember?" the dragon nudged him again.

"All right, all right…" the boy stated, suddenly sitting up, his eyes opening to a world.

"Hey… kiddo. Good, you're awake. We're at our stop, and need to get off," Gin stated, his hand on his far shoulder, trying to wake the boy up. This caused the small taicho to sit up, realization hitting him, he had been curled up to the man's side, as he slept. This caused him to jerk away in shock, only to have Ichimaru stand up, and pull him after him, and off the bus.

The shock of just waking up, still wasn't lost on him, and he rubbed his eyes, trying to erase that dull feeling, and simply let Gin pull him all the way to Urahara's shop, and simply walk in. At this, he felt Jinta's eyes on him, as the red head was forced to sweep the floor. "What the hell…"

This caused Toshiro to try to turn towards the boy, only to find his left sleeve being held onto tightly by Gin, which he hadn't noticed before. However, the man's hands carefully turned him, and Ichimaru shook his head, indicating that a confrontation should be avoided. From the corner of his eye, he jaw Urahara's associate tense, only to have the shop owner speak up.

"Hitsugaya Taicho isn't feeling good. Ichimaru took him to get some medicine," the man stated, though the white haired boy couldn't see the man's face. "Let him rest… he needs it."

"Did you have a good nap on the bus ride?" Gin suddenly asked, causing Toshiro to tense up, and his face to flush, as the man slid the door open to the room that he had been in before. "Well?"

"I would rather not talk about that," Toshiro took a deep breath. He sat down on the floor, and pulled out one of the tubes and read the cardboard boxes instructions. Or, he tried to, only to have it grabbed by Ichimaru. The man then handed the whole thing back to him.

"I'll be right back. Don't put it on, until I get back," Ichimaru stated, causing Toshiro's eyes to go wide.

"You are kidding, right? What about privacy?" the boy stated. "I am not a little kid!"

"You still need to sponge bath the areas that the rash is on, before you apply that stuff," the man stated, heading out the door. "And before you argue that I should leave you completely alone, you'll need help with your back. Unfortunately, you also happen to have it all over your body, so you're also going to have to strip down to your underwear."

At this, Toshiro cursed his luck, pulling his shirt over his head. By the time that Gin had gotten back, he was down to his underwear, glaring at the rash spots. Some were a little bit pussy, where the thorn had dug in deep. He heard the bowl of water set down next to him. He made no move to start doing anything though, as his mind was still numb.

"Shiro-chan?" He felt Gin place a hand on his shoulder. As Toshiro absentmindedly reached up to itch, he grabbed the small hand. He then saw the man move to one side, and begin to wipe of the arm that he had grabbed with a soft, damp cloth. "If you don't do it, someone has to do it you know…"

**M**

It took time, for Matsumoto to get permission to go to the living world. As her captain was away from the division, and had been gone for what was now over twenty-four hours, her concern had grown. She had received a text from Rukia, that he was with Gin, of all people, and her heart became suddenly worried. She had an idea that it had something to do with the fact she felt she couldn't trust Gin.

When she finally had received the permission, she headed through the gate, and ended up in the yard of the candy shop. She saw Jinta sweeping furiously outside, and tilted her head at this. "Hey… have you seen taicho?"

Rangiku watched, as Jinta stopped, his lips pursed closed. Something was bothering the boy. "He's…"

"Come on… out with it," the woman sighed. "I am worried enough about him as it is."

"Well. I saw him get back somewhere, with that scary looking guy. The one with the fox like face," the boy glanced at the ground.

"That's good. The man's name is Ichimaru Gin," the robust female knew something else was there. "And…"

"Ichimaru was pulling Hitsugaya Taicho along by his sleeve. That isn't like him. Urahara said something about medicine. But…" Jinta let out a huge sigh. "That freaky guy mentioned something about stripping down to underwear."

"Did he?" Matsumoto's voice suddenly turned like that of a feral cat. She stormed into the shop, Jinta following behind her. "Urahara… explanation?"

"Matsumoto?" the man suddenly fell off where he had his feet propped up on the counter. "I didn't expect to see you. You're… rather protective of your small taicho."

"And why shouldn't I be?" the woman stated, suddenly repeating what she had just been told.

This caused the man to glare at Jinta, indicating that he should leave. When the boy was gone, his tone turned a bit on the dark side. "Your small taicho, happened to have a case of poisoning, from an attack of one of the Arrancar. She used a vine attack with thorns. Unfortunately, he… also had an allergic reaction to the vines. He has a rash… all over his body. That's what Gin is helping him take care of."

"I see…" Matsumoto nodded her head, and headed towards the room that she could feel the rieatsu of the two males. She opened the door to the room. "Taicho…"

In front of her, she saw her small taicho, silently letting Gin put some sort of medicine onto the boy's rash. The child was complacent, simply letting the man do what he needed, which wasn't usual. When Toshiro heard her voice, he was startled from his trance and glanced up, his eyes wide from the shock that had come from hearing her voice.

"Ichimaru… I can take care of this, would you please leave?" Rangiku tilted her head, over her shoulder.

She watched, as Gin suddenly cocked his head at her, tilting it and opening one eye. "You sure you know what you're doing?" However, he didn't object, and simply got up, and walked to her door, handing her the tube of ointment. "There is something I need to talk to you about in a bit."

"I really don't want to talk to you," the female sighed, closing the door behind him, as he left. She then went over to where her small taicho sat, and began to wash off his small back. She couldn't help but wince at the amount that covered his body. "Hey… taicho, has he been treating you all right?"

Toshiro's next movement, suddenly caught her off guard, as he suddenly leaned backwards, his head tilted so he could actually look her straight in the face. His eyes were odd, a bit on the wide side, a bit of his actual physical age showing through. His mouth twitched, showing that quite a few thoughts, and perhaps emotions were going through his head. She also saw a bit of glistening in his eyes, almost as if he was upset of something.

"Has he done something to you?" Rangiku asked, concern in her voice, wondering what being with Gin for as long as he had, which very few people rarely could do, had done to him mentally. "Has he said anything, that hurt your feelings, that insulted you?"

This caused his suddenly to refuse to look into her face, which he had done, surprisingly, for a few minutes, almost as if he was looking for her to give him some kind of awners. "Gin… no… it's not really what he said or did that I am upset about."

"I see," Matsumoto began to place the ointment onto a few spots on his back. She had been used to him pulling away from her at times, but for some reason, this time it seemed more purposeful, then from his usual subconscious embarrassment.

"Matsumoto," came his voice, as he suddenly pulled his legs to his chest , and held them there. She let out a small sound, indicating that she was listening. He then asked a question, that she hadn't expected him to suddenly ask, and hoped would never crop up again. "Why do you always forget about my birthday?"

"Taicho…" the female suddenly tensed up, wondering how to answer his question.

"Can I have an answer?" the small boy stated, his chin resting on his knees.

"I told you… I thought that you didn't care for your birthday," the female stated, letting out a sigh, her administration of the medicine ceasing.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Hitsugaya's tone was distant, filled with grayness, emitting a lack of sincerity to his words.

"Am I telling you the truth," Matsumoto suddenly paused, closing her eyes.

"_No… you aren't telling him the truth_," Haineko suddenly spoke up, from the back of her mind. "_You think he's picking up on it?_"

"Taicho… look, if there is another reason, it isn't really something you need to know about," Rangiku stated, not wanting to tell him about the past.

However, this suddenly caused him to bury his head, so that only his white hair was visible. His voice was almost chocking. "Leave…"

"Taicho…" the female was suddenly shocked, at his reaction, and pulled away slightly.

"I hate you…" came the even more expected words. His body had tensed up. "I want… Gin… to help me."

"Taicho… you don't mean… I mean, I understand that you want Gin to help you, I am a female after all. But… that other thing… you didn't mean that, did you?" her voice shock, the first thing he had said hurting deeply.

"I… hate… you," came the rather childish reply, one that she never thought she would hear her taicho doing or saying to someone. "Leave… now."

"All right…" she stated, getting up, and heading to the door, and opening it, to slide through, and close it behind her.

"That was, rather quick," Gin stated, leaning against the wall, only to find the tube of ointment shoved into his chest.

"What did you do and say to him Gin?" she stated, finally using his first name. Tears were welling in her eyes.

"What did he tell you?" Ichimaru's eyes suddenly opened, a bit of concern in his voice, almost as if he wanted to have control over something, but that it had possibly escaped him.

"He told me, he hates me, and wants you," Matsumoto stated, her eyes closing, and a few tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Ran… he's starting to hit puberty. Perhaps it is because he's starting to notice females more, is all," the man stated.

"I don't know how you could make a judgment like that, when you haven't been around for so long," Rangiku stated. "He hates me, because I forget about his birthday. I mean, something as trivial as that!"

"You of all people, should know, birthdays mean a lot," came the sigh. "It isn't something that is trivial. Let me try to fix this…"

"By telling him the truth!" Rangiku verbally slapped him, though he paid it no mind. "I don't believe it to be your place to tell him, when it is between him and me. What exactly was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"About that truth…" Gin stated, only to have the female stick her hands up in the air.

"You really are a baka, aren't you, so called genius because you graduated in a year's time," Rangiku shook her head at him. "I _don't _want to talk to someone about that, who didn't even care that our baby died. Such a person also doesn't have the right, to tell him the truth, do you?"

"No… look, I'll go take care of this," Ichimaru sighed.

"Promise me, you won't tell him, that I avoid his birthday because of the fact my little one was supposed to be born on that day," she stated, turning away. "And if you make things worse… just… don't make things worse."

"I can promise you, I won't tell him that is the reason that you avoid his birthday, but if he asks, I won't lie to him either," Gin stated, as she suddenly moved away, trying to get away, before she completely lost it.

As she did, she thought she could hear something along the lines of "_chibi-taicho, what have you gone and done this time?_"

_Author's note – There were a few reviewers who noticed, Toshiro seemed to take it… rather well, last chapter. Stubborn Toshiro is using Toshiro logic, is the best way to word it._


	14. Substitute

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Substitute~**

When Gin had been applying the ointment, Hitsugaya could go into his own little world, and ignore the fact that a lot of things that he didn't want to happen, were going. He could ignore what was the possible truth, that broke possible lies that surrounded his life. That was until, he heard the door slide open, and a familiar female voice call through the darkness, and bring him back, whether he wanted to leave the mind numbing experience. "Taicho…"

He knew that he had tensed up, and that his reaction was far from desirable, but one of the things about letting his mind go numb, was the fact that he didn't have to deal with the whole pain that came from a certain train of thought that cropped up, when he thought of Matsumoto. He heard her speak up, her tone negative to the person currently helping him, not that he could blame her, as even he… knowing the possible truth, found it hard to trust the man. "Ichimaru… I can take care of this, would you please leave?"

He didn't know what the two talked about, however, he felt a clenching in his gut, when she stated rather negatively, "I really don't want to talk to you." This caused him to flinch, as he thought of the fact that there was the possibility, she wouldn't let Gin tell her the truth, when he wanted her to know. That train of thought was going through his head. "Hey… taicho, has he been treating you all right?"

Suddenly, he choose to lean back, to look her straight in the face. Toshiro knew he wanted something from her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He just knew that she was hiding something from him, and there was something that he was trying to grasp, but also… there was the fact that, he also had the feeling, if he discovered what it was, he wouldn't be happy about it. He simply stared, until she spoke again, concern in his voice. "Has he done something to you?"

This rather surprised him, considering the fact that ever since he came to the living world, Gin had only tried to take care of him, to his best ability. Toshiro had to admit, he wasn't very fond of some of the man's tactics, he also knew, if what Ichimaru had told him, was true, that the man wouldn't let any harm come to him. Of course, there was the fact that Matsumoto didn't trust him, and likely wouldn't even if she knew the truth. "Has he said anything, that hurt your feelings, that insulted you?"

This statement was startling, as deep down, what Gin had told him, had hurt his feelings. However, he saw it more as something he needed to know, rather than something that he felt insulted by. However, he knew he couldn't hide the fact that the man had said something to him, that had caused some form of hurt, and thus he refuse to look in her pale blue eyes, lest he betray himself. "Gin… no… it's not really what he said or did that I am upset about."

"I see," He could feel her applying ointment, and while it felt good, something was still bothering him. He had an idea of what it was. He said her name aloud, and waited for her to be listening to him.

"Why do you always forget about my birthday?" His mind was, for some reason, fixated on this one thing. He had always thought that his birthday, was a lie that his Grandmother came up with. Well, if she picked out a birthday for him, it wasn't really a lie. It just wasn't the truth either. "_If you knew my birthday matched, why didn't you ever say something to me about it. You knew how I felt about my birthday…_"

"Taicho…" the tone wasn't a very happy one.

"Can I have an answer?" His thoughts continued down a path he didn't like. "_She keeps avoiding telling me the truth. I thought I could trust her to tell me something as important as this, and not avoid it._"

"I told you… I thought that you didn't care for your birthday," came her reply. Yet, for some reason, he knew that was simply an excuse, if what Gin had told him was the truth. Why he was trusting that man, more than Rangiku, he didn't quite understand.

"Are you telling me the truth? _I know you're not…_"

"Am I telling you the truth," her tone though, was strained. She then said the wrong thing. "Taicho… look, if there is another reason, it isn't really something you need to know about."

"_I … don't… need to know, that there is the possibility that I am your child! What am I too you Matsumoto? Am I just a simple substitute for what you lost? Am I… a substitute for my own self? I trusted you… not to do something like this to me!" _Toshiro couldn't help, but bury his head in his arms, and the chock out for her to go away.

"Taicho…" Her response was one that he knew hurt her, but he also knew, she had no idea he already knew that she was lying to him. To bring out, that she had broken his trust with him, was not an easy thing to do. Something inside him, wanted Gin to do the telling of the truth, almost as if he thought that things could be fixed somehow.

"I hate you…" He also couldn't help, but be angry with her, for not telling him. "I want… Gin… to help me."

"Taicho… you don't mean… I mean, I understand that you want Gin to help you, I am a female after all. But… that other thing… you didn't mean that, did you?" It surprised him, that she hadn't picked up on what was the problem.

"I… hate… you. Leave… now." Wasn't Rangiku, supposed to be the one person, who could read him, better than anyone else?

"All right…" Instead of responding in the way that he wanted, to tell him the truth, she simply left, hitting deep and hard.

His hand began to dig through his clothing, in search for his Soul Phone. Work, was something he could dig into, to ignore the rest of the world. He snapped it open, and began to look through his message box, only to find that there were a lot of messages that were along the line of simply worrying about him, and not work related, though he had an idea why. He then came to a message from Ukitake Taicho, labeled '_Urgent!!! Call when you get!!!'._

As he began to dial the taicho's number, he heard Gin slide into the room, and sit up against one of the walls, watching him, and letting him do whatever he was doing. He wasn't sure, if it was an attempt to allow him privacy, or it was simply his offhand way, of parenting, letting Toshiro do what he needed to, to work through the hurt was there. "Ukitake Taicho?"

"_Ahh! Happy belated birthday, Shiro-chan_," the man stated.

"What…" Toshiro felt his two eyes suddenly go wide.

"_I didn't get to see you yesterday, so I didn't get to wish you a happy birthday, like I always do_," the man sighed. At first, Toshiro felt his jaw tremble a bit, and his chest tighten badly. He found that he couldn't hold it in, and tears were suddenly falling down his cheeks, and he was bawling over the phone, to one of the other taicho. Ukitake's voice suddenly became concerned. "Hitsugaya Taicho, if I said something wrong…"

"No… not that," the small boy sobbed, clutching the phone to his ear.

"_Shiro-chan… whatever is the matter then?_" the other white haired taicho's voice was calm.

"Only… one other person, wished me…" the words couldn't quite come out.

"_Didn't Rangiku and Momo-chan wish you a happy birthday? It surprises me that one of them wouldn't have,_" the man sighed, frustrated.

"It wasn't either... Momo was excited by… being invited to… by Kira," came Toshiro's choked out response. "Mat… mat…"

"_I take it, that what you are really upset about, is the fact Matsumoto forgot? It was just one year, and she's probably simply mad at Gin. That's why she forgot, ne?_" Ukitake, was trying to be helpful, however, didn't realize what string of words, his own would cause, now where the conversation would go.

"No… she's done this every… every year," Toshiro hear Ukitake suddenly ask, about how could he be sure. "Because…"

"_I am all ears. You know you can trust me. What is the story?_" the man was likely all positive smiles on the other side.

"Ichimaru told me, he is my father. Matsumoto is my mother, but she doesn't know, because she thinks I died as a baby, but also that I was a girl. She thus gets depressed this time of the year, up until my birthday's finished. I thought it was just the Christmas season, but it isn't." There was a bit of sobs and deep breaths during the conversation.

"_This isn't going to sound rude, but this sounds like some cockamamie prank that Ichimaru would come up with, to play with someone's mind. Are you sure, that this isn't the case? I mean, if this isn't true, I don't want to see you hurt by it," _Ukitake's voice was strained, as if what he had just been told, was rather upsetting him.

"Matsumoto… she refused to tell me the truth," the boy stated.

"_And what if there is no truth to tell_?" the man was carefully covering all grounds, knowing that it was on thin ground, as Toshiro was in one of his mental breakdowns, that he rarely went into.

"She said, 'if there is another reason, it isn't really something you need to know about'. Exactly, word for word," Hitsugaya stated, his body beginning to calm down a little, as he began to reason things through.

"_That does sound suspicious. Was there anything else?_"

"Yeah… Gin said that I could ask Granny, and that she would tell me that he was telling me the truth." There came a huge breathe.

"_Shiro-chan… would you like me to visit your grandmother, and confirm this?_" Ukitake's tone suddenly took on a bit of darkness to it.

"You would do that. Why? I don't understand?" Toshiro's hand reached up, to wipe some of the tears away.

"_You know I care about you… as do others here in Soul Society. It is as simple as that._" The man then brought up something else. "_Be careful, bringing up the wrong thing, in front of Rangiku._"

"I think I already did something stupid," the small taicho stated.

"_I see… well, we'll work to fix it then. It shouldn't be that hard, right?_" Smiles emanated across the phone, even though they couldn't be seen. "_I'll talk to you later, all right?_"

"Ahh… wait," Toshiro suddenly flinched. "Ukitake Taicho, happy birthday yourself. And thank you."

"_Ahh… thank you Shiro-chan. You are most welcome." _At that, the call ended, and Toshiro could feel Gin approach him.

"You do know, you made Matsumoto cry, right?" Gin stated, which caused the boy to flinch again. He felt the man place a boney hand on his shoulder. "What was it, that made it so that you are mad at her? If it is what I told you, I apologize, to you… and eventually her."

"While it deals with what you told me, it isn't your fault." A small hand reached up to brush away the man's hand. "I tried getting her to tell me, why she avoids my birthday."

"And…"

"I know you overhead what I said to Ukitake Taicho, nearly every single word. You know what she said to me," the boy stated, frustrated with the man, as it seemed that he enjoyed playing games to much.

"I know what she said to you too well. I don't think it is simply about the fact that she refused to tell you the truth. I know you, a lot better than you think I do, believe it or not," Gin stated firmly.

"She just sees me as a substitute for the child she lost. Yet, I am the child she lost. It's confusing, and it hurts. I don't want to be a replacement," Toshiro stated.

"So, that's where you're coming from?" Gin sighed. "Looks like I'll have to figure out a way to tell her. If I had known that this was what the problem was, I would have told her before she left. I can't do anything about it now, though, can I?"

"Hai…" The small boy nearly jumped, as he felt something cold against his back.

"You've still got quite a bit on your back to cover. I'll finish this up, and then you can do the rest," Gin stated. Toshiro however, couldn't help but tense up, and he wasn't quite sure why he did this.


	15. Gifts

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Gifts~**

When Gin finished applying the medication to the boy's body, he found Toshiro some lose clothing that would not chafe or irritate where the rashes were, at least to the best results possible. He then left the small boy, to his own devices, to sulk in his depression, and hopefully get over it on his own terms, rather than being forced.

The man then slipped to the front, said something to Urahara about something, before completely disappearing for a couple of hours. This caused Jinta to have a rather irate discussion with the candy shop owner, only to be told off by the ex-shingami captain, with a glare, silencing him from saying anything further about the matter.

When Gin got back, he was carrying a small paper bag. He then headed to the back room that Toshiro was in. when he arrived, he found that the boy was simply lying on top of the futon, his arms spread out to his sides, staring at the ceiling, a look of either boredom, or frustration on his face. It seemed to go back and forth between the two, with a few other emotions mixed in.

Ichimaru then walked over to the boy, setting the paper bag down. He then went and crouched over the boy, so that he was looking at him upside down, a hand on either side of his head. "Hi."

"This caused Hitsugaya to startle. "What do you want?"

"Shouldn't you be resting?" the man stated, maintaining his typical face.

"I have too much on my mind to rest. I guess I have you to blame for that," the nonchalant ran deep through his voice. Toshiro then gave his own question. "Where did you go?"

"To get Matsumoto's Christmas present," the man pulled the paper bad closer.

"Didn't I tell you, she'll toss whatever you give her?" the boy's face twisted in disgust. "How is this going to help fix things?"

"I'll show you what I got," the man stated, as he began to shuffle through the bag, then pulled out the jewelry box, handing it to the child.

"Oi…" Toshiro snapped it open. "It's turquoise and topaz…""

As the white haired child gave the bracelet back, not to mention a dirty look, Gin took the chance to speak up. "Do you know the meaning behind those stones?"

I wonder how you were able to afford something like this. That, and how stupid you can be."

"I had a lot saved up and stored away," Ichimaru shrugged his shoulders. "Why are you saying I'm stupid?"

"Turquoise is given to wish health for a person. Topaz is for _love _and _fidelity_," Hitsugaya grumbled.

"You really don't get the meaning…" Gin actually opened his pale teal eyes, revealing that he was actually shocked. "Do you know what a birthstone is, chibi-taicho?"

"No… and don't call me that," the boy muttered.

"I also got something for you to give Ran-chan. It should hopefully give you a clue," the man dug through the bag, then handed the small taicho a small box.

Toshiro opened it, only to suddenly turn pale and green. "You want me to give Matsumoto the symbol for the male restroom with the topaz stone in it. Considering what that stone symbolizes, you're sick…"

To the boy's surprise, Gin let out a sound of shock, not to mention, the man proceeded to stare for a good length of time. His eyes were open wide and his mouth slack. Finally, he spoke up. "You still haven't gotten it. Amazingly, it is amusing how intelligent you are, yet certain things got right over your head, simply because you think too hard."

The small boy felt the box plucked from his hand. "So, I got the whole thing wrong?"

"Duh…" Gin snapped the box shut, and placed it into the bag. He then crouched down further, so that he was leaning over Toshiro, his face much closer. "There is something I seriously thought about talking to you about earlier, but thought best to wait on."

"Wh…" However, both males heard the door to the room open. Ichimaru didn't budge, however, the white haired child's face tilted in that direction, to see Jinta peering in. "Go away Hanakari. You're annoying."

This caused a slamming of the door to occur. Gin simply brushed what had happened off. "I wanted to talk to you about Karin-chan."

"What!" The next thing either one of them knew, Toshiro was sitting up so fast, their foreheads collided. "Owe!"

"Owe… is right…" the silver haired man backed away, allowing the boy to sit up. He then sat so that his back was against the child's. "You knew that I was likely to bring this up. Be glad I didn't in front of your former taicho, Isshin, or that creepy Ichigo person."

"Creepy… you're one to talk," the boy grumbled. "I don't think bringing her up has any importance. I don't _have _a crush on her."

"Your dream says otherwise," Gin was suddenly laughing.

"No. My dream is the result of Matsumoto teasing me about Karin. We're just… friends. She's the only person equivalent to my age, to accept me for who I am," the boy stated, his voice low.

"Do you know how much that sounds like Matsumoto and me?" Gin suddenly leaned to one side, and clicked his knuckle on the back of Hitsugaya's head.

"Hey! My head all ready hurts from the front," came the muttering. "Plus… you and Matsumoto had a romantic relationship, right?"

This caused the older of the two to let out a groan. "You don't get it. What happened between Matsumoto and me, wasn't Romantic. We we're goofing off. I don't want you to make that same mistake we did."

"You mean… me…" the small taicho suddenly tensed.

"What do you mean by that," Ichimaru's voice was a dry kind of inquisitiveness.

"I am going to ask you something," t he boy stated. Then, just as the door opened again, "Do you love me?"

The small taicho's eyes quickly darted towards the door, in time to see Tessai grab Jinta by the scruff of his neck. "I thought I told you to sweep the front. Leave them alone. They're fine."

"Annoying, definitely," Gin stated. However, he raised an eyebrow, as he glanced over his shoulder at the small boy. "You are, waiting for an answer, aren't you?"

"Yes… I am waiting for an answer," Toshiro muttered.

"I can't say, whether I do or don't love you," Gin stated, watching the child sink further into himself. "Truth of the matter is, I don't know what that is. What I do know, is I care about your well being."

"It's not as if I know what it is either," the boy muttered, suddenly leaning against Ichimaru's back, though his body was still completely tense.

"No… I think you know better than I do. You might think you are completely ice, but I don't think you've realized yet, you've got Ran-chan's kind heart," the man stated. "You were trying to lead somewhere."

"I am a mistake, am I not. The only reason you care, is because you are obligated to care, because you are the reason I was born," the boy stated.

"If you were a mistake, then why is it that you put a smile on your grandmother's face," Gin stated, startling the small boy. "Try to get some sleep."

**M**

Meanwhile, Matsumoto had gone back through the gate, and had headed back to the office. She carefully closed the door, and took a good look at the stack of papers that were sitting on her small taicho's desk, not to mention the ones on her own. She bit her lip, still trying to hold back the pain. She had taken her time getting back.

She heard a small knock, and moved aside, to let Nanao through the door. "I was hoping you would be back by now. How is Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"He said he hates me," Rangiku stated, her voice quaking.

"Now, now. He's a preteen. That means he's going through that stage. I mean, he pushed off your hugs again, right?" the woman quickly asked.

"It wasn't as simple as that," the robust female sighed. "He said he hated me, and that he would rather have Gin help him."

"Help him with what… what is going on?" Nanao found herself being given a quick explanation of what had happened. The female narrowed her eyes at her best friend. "You are… hiding something from me."

Matsumoto went to go sit on the couch, and motioned Nanao to come over to see her. "Nanao-chan… you remember how, in school I got comments for having to take a year off?"

"You told me about your miscarriage… quite a few times," the female sat down. "You just never went into detail, though I have an idea, who the father was."

"Taicho and I… we basically had an argument. He asked me why I avoid his birthday, and asked me to tell him the truth. I can't tell him though, his birthday, is the same day I miscarried my baby girl. I didn't know that when I first met him. I don't want him to think he's a replacement for something I lost. He doesn't need that," Rangiku stated, while her female leaned back.

"Are you sure they aren't the same child?" the female muttered. "Your taicho, is a lot like Ichimaru you know."

"Oh… I know that," Matsumoto sighed, tears trickling down her face. "Taicho wasn't born in Soul Society. As much wishful thinking as I have, he isn't my child. He is upset with me though, and he has a right to be. I mean, I've avoided his birthday, for so many years. I can't use the excuse, he doesn't care anymore, because truth of the matter is, I above all other people, should have known what it is like, birthdays."

"Why don't you try and get him a present? The best present would be, to get the paperwork done," the female stated, suddenly glancing at the piles on the desk, pushing up her glasses.

"It doesn't make up for the fact, he is actually favoring Gin," the orange haired female started to mess in her hair nervously.

"I don't get that. Ichimaru is… well, to say the least, he is one of the most problematic people I have ever met. I couldn't help but notice, that he would purposely go out of his way to tease Hitsugaya Taicho, more than others," the female stated.

"I wonder if that happens to be, because Gin was jealous of taicho, or something. I mean, I've spent a lot of time with taicho, and Gin always seemed to be watching over my shoulder, when I did so," the female sighed, trying to wipe her tears away.

"That… or he could actually be trying to use you," Nanao sighed.

Matsumoto's eyes suddenly went wide. "I asked Gin, not to tell him… about the miscarriage. However, he's _never _been sensitive about that. What if he _has _told taicho?"

"I don't see why he would Rangiku. Though truthfully, I wouldn't trust him.


	16. Ukitake Claus

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Ukitake Claus~**

Back in Soul Society, the snow fell from the sky as Ukitake Taicho headed out from his division. He glanced up at the sky, a weak smile spreading on his face. He then glanced around, to check to see that no one was there to follow him. While his two third division members would have been ecstatic about helping him, he doubted that they could keep this kind of secret.

His feet crunched on the snow, as he headed out, towards the place that Hitsugaya Taicho grew up. His footsteps were light, but his heart felt heavy. The small taicho was not someone who easily cried, or pushed his woes onto other. In fact, if the child hadn't been so distraught when he had gotten the message he sent, he doubt he would have even found out.

The thirteenth division taicho though, found himself startled, as a voice came to him. "Ukitake Taicho? Should you be out in this weather?"

"Ahh!" He turned, recognizing the voice. "Ise Fukutaicho... how are you doing today?"

"I had to console Matsumoto Rangiku, but otherwise I am all right," the woman sighed.

"Let me guess. It has to deal with the fact that a certain, very small taicho, went and told her, he hates her," Ukitake stated calmly, though there was a touch of nervousness that escaped in his tone.

Nanao suddenly found her eyes going wide. "You know about that?"

"About the fact that he did. Yes, he told me himself," Ukitake stated, glancing up at the sky, and opening his mouth to childishly catch a snowflake.

"Well, I hope that you aren't taking his side on this," the female suddenly huffed. "She has a reason for not telling him."

"Telling him what?" Ukitake's ears suddenly perked, only to have Nanao glare at him.

"Gomen... it isn't any of your business," the woman stated. She then changed the subject. "Ukitake Taicho, should you really be out here? What are you doing?"

"I have an errand to run," the man smiled.

"If you need Christmas shopping done, I can do that for you. Just don't tell me _what _you're getting for _you know who_, actually, quite a few _you know who_. I don't want to know. There are quite a few men that I am miffed at right now, including my taicho, as usual. And one of them really isn't a man. He's a little boy," the female stated.

"I might take you up on that offer, but the errand I am running, is for someone else," Ukitake sighed. He tried walking away, only to have the small female fukutaicho hurry after him.

"Well, then I should go with you, or do it for you. You don't need to be out in this weather, with your illness. My taicho, and Unohana would agree with me, and you know it. What is the errand?" the female stated.

"It's an errand for Hitsugaya Taicho actually," the man stepped forward, continuing his way.

Nanao paused still, then hurried to catch up, going to walk backwards in front of him. "But... you yourself know about what he did to Matsumoto Rangiku?"

"I do know very well what happened." Sadness suddenly reflected in the white haired taicho's eyes.

"Then why are you helping him?" Ise continued badgering him.

"Because, if I can confirm what he told me as untrue, he can easily apologize to Matsumoto. I hope, dear Ise, that is good enough of a reason for you," the man stated, walking further along.

However, the woman was not to be thrown off guard. "What about if they are true?"

Ukitake paused, his usual smile leaving his face. "Then things are just going to get much worse between them."

"I am going with you. It has to do with Matsumoto, doesn't it?" the female stated. "She's my best friend."

"And Hitsugaya Taicho has my trust on this one," Jushiro frowned at her. "This is something that should not be getting out."

"But it is about Matsumoto, shouldn't she has the right to know!" Ise was becoming agitated.

"The person who should tell her, is Toshiro if it is false. If it is true..." Ukitake suddenly had a rather dangerous look in his eyes. However, he paused. "If you promise not to tell her, then you can come. What I am going to find out, isn't something she needs to hear from either one of us, but someone else."

Nanao nodded her head in agreement, and followed Ukitake, out into the Rukongai. She glanced around, as they came to a small house, on the edge of a small village in the first district. Ukitake knocked on the door. "Is this perhaps the house of the grandmother of Hitsugaya Toshiro?"

A small voice came from inside the room, and Ukitake gave a smile, and stepped into the room, followed by Nanao, to see a rather short old lady, smiling at them. "I am glad of visitors. I haven't heard from Toshiro or Momo for quite a few months."

"We had a great deal of trouble, and a lot of hurt, that I don't think either one of them wished to bring home to you," Ukitake smiled, taking a seat in front of her, followed by the fukutaicho, who suddenly became nervous.

"The, if you don't mind, remind my grandson, that it hurts me, to see him hurt himself like this. Keeping secrets from me, does him no good," the old woman stated.

"Speaking of him," the man placed his words carefully. "How long have you raised Hitsugaya Taicho? He is well mannered for someone his age?"

"Oh... Toshiro, unlike Momo, who came to me when my daughter died, I've raised the boy since he was an infant, until the shingami took over," the woman stated, a smile on her face. "He is a great joy to me."

"Wait..." Nanao suddenly spoke up. "I thought that he died, then came to Soul Society?"

"No. His father brought him to me as a new born babe. Foolish boy hadn't cut the cord, or cleaned the poor baby. But then, his father, my youngest, was the one who was always different, thought about things differently. Toshiro is much the same way, but... things happened differently." The old woman was suddenly frowning.

"So, his father had the last name of Hitsugaya?" Ise asked, suddenly looking relieved.

"Yes... he had the name of Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya Gin," the woman stated.

"Are you sure, it isn't Ichimaru Gin?" Ukitake suddenly imputed, a bit of worry spreading on his face.

"That boy..." the old woman let out a sigh. "You tell Gin, he'll always be a Hitsugaya. He can't go changing what happened in the past, simply by pretending his name isn't something it isn't."

"And his mother..." Nanao bit her lip, rather upset about the explanation to the whole problem.

"Let me guess. Gin told you that she was dead?" Ukitake brought up. "Hitsugaya already told me. I apologize if I've come across as deceitful, but Toshiro found out recently, from your son, a lot of things. There are, to say the least, reasons why we didn't know whether to trust Gin's word on this."

The old woman shook her head. "I actually understand. I know that my son has a way of hiding the truth from people. Tell my grandson's mother, his fukutaicho, to come and meet me face to face. I've been wanting to meet her, ever since she convinced my grandson what was best for him."

"You... knew..." Ise chocked back.

"On one side, I couldn't convince it. On the other, something told me, Gin didn't want Toshiro to know he was his father," the old woman had a tear suddenly streak down her cheek.

"Did something happen?" Ukitake asked.

"My son has always left money to buy food, leaving so only I would notice him. But when Toshiro was an infant, and when he was really small, he actually showed himself in front of the boy. However, Toshiro's first word ever, was _chichi_. He said his first word, then a full sentence, about the age of a three year old, in terms of the living world, to Ichimaru. Ichimaru told him to his face, he wasn't his father, which was a lie. I ask that you not tell Toshiro that... let his father tell him," the grandmother stated.

"I won't," the thirteenth division taicho stated.

"But... if Ichimaru Gin loved and cared for..." Ise suddenly closed her eyes.

"My son has said, he doesn't have emotions. Truth of the matter is, he really does. He just never has known how to express them like a normal person. Then again, neither has my grandson. If his mother hadn't found him, I fear he would have possibly headed down the same path as my youngest. So many things, were similar in their lives. But she managed to make the change he needed. He talks about how she saved me, but truth of the matter is, the person she really saved, was that little boy."

"But..."

"I'll leave you, granny Hitsugaya," Ukitake bowed his head, indicating it was time to leave. He and Nanao walked a ways away, only to have Nanao have to stop. The man turned to her. "You understand, it's Gin who has to tell her?"

"Why _him_?_" _Nanao suddenly asked.

"Because Toshiro can't tell her. And... I think that boy desperately wants things to be fixed between the two. Do you understand, Ise Nanao?" Ukitake watched her carefully.

"I do." However, she suddenly found the tears she had been trying to hold back, come flooding forwards, and the normally emotionless eighth division fukutaicho was bawling her head off. The white haired taicho simply sat back, and waited patiently. She finally stopped. "I am so sorry..."

"Don't be..." Ukitake glanced at the sky. "I've been feeling ill about this whole problem, ever since Shiro-chan broke down crying, and told me everything. I had hopped I could tell him, Ichimaru was simply pulling his leg. I felt him lying, would be kinder then him actually having told the truth."

"So then... I don't understand. Shouldn't Hitsugaya Taicho be lashing out at Ichimaru Gin, not Rangiku?" Nanao asked, worry written all over her face.

"He doesn't want to be a replacement for himself," the man sighed, placing his hands in his sleeves.

"You'll have to explain to me, what he meant by that," the female felt some snow fall onto her lashes.

"He feels that Matsumoto was using him as a replacement, for the baby that she lost. He feels that she hasn't told him the truth, because of that. He feels he's an unwanted child."

"I am going to tell Matsumoto..." Ise found herself interrupted.

"You promised."

"Listen. I am going to try to convince her, to tell him the truth. Problem is, the reason she didn't tell him, is she didn't want him to feel that way," the woman stated, tears still falling down her cheeks. Glancing up at the sky. "Did you know, Matsumoto named me the Godmother of the baby she lost? She didn't say much about it, but said she wanted me to be. I think it was some way for her to cope. Does this mean I'm Hitsugaya Taicho's Godmother then?"

"I guess so," Ukitake frowned at this. However, he saw a smile spread over the young woman's face.

"Then, in all this mess, I've found something to smile about," she chocked out.

"We're going to need it," Ukitake sighed.

_Author's note – Sorry for not updating in a long time. I've been in the process of moving._


	17. Awkward

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Awkward~**

_Staring at that crazy looking Santa, Ichimaru couldn't help but feel frightened. That one Espada, happened to have one of the greatest powers among all of them. Within the man's grip, Toshiro was struggling. "I used to be Santa you know."_

_Ichimaru couldn't help but feel his stomach lurch, from the site of his small child, being shook, almost like a rag doll. He had seen many things going on in the small child's mind, including his first crush, perhaps the fact his son finding his soul mate, to this. "Sheesh... chibi taicho... you need to curb your imagination."_

_He jumped in surprise, as the skull faced Baraggan launched a kido spell at him. Yes, Toshiro, when he really wanted to be, always had a rater wild imagination, and didn't always think things through. He couldn't help but pipe up, hoping that it might help the situation, as Toshiro's mind was in truth in control. "Let me ask you, how is an Espada supposed to know kido? Huh?"_

"_That is a good question," the boy responded, glaring at the man, as his mind tried wrapping around it. However, that should have been a warning sign to Gin, as he knew very well, what kind of circles the boy's mind might go in._

"_Because I used to be Santa before I became hollowfied." The ex-Espada's response made Ichimaru what to palm slap his own face. To put it simply, Toshiro was using the logic of a child, to allow his fears to run rampant._

"_Gin!" The boy hissed out his dismay, turning to him, fright in his child's eyes. Though, when this was over, the silver haired man knew he would never admit it._

_Ichimaru let out a sigh. "Your dream kiddo, your logic, not mine... mine would have said... Santa become hollow, Santa lose kido ability." His mind wrapped around the logic that in a child's fantasy story, there was a huge separation of good and evil. Children feared when the two blended together. Of course, Toshiro had experienced this first hand through a good portion of his life._

"_But this isn't a dream... it is in fact reality." Baraggan was really starting to annoy Ichimaru about the whole thing._

"_Ah... posh it's not... don't even begin to believe this guy." Gin, in his own mind, begged Toshiro not to buy into the crap the fake Santa was peddling. Then again, leave this kind of dream, to the one kid, who never had gotten Christmas._

_Baraggan though, began to shake Toshiro, and spill out another lie. "You know... I wouldn't have been turned hollow, if you had just simply believed."_

"_Believed in what!" While Toshiro didn't know what was going on, Gin knew that the fake Santa was leading to, much to his dismay. It was getting harder to get words in edge wise, possibly because the small taicho was really panicking now, without realizing it. The child simply couldn't control his emotions._

"_Let me think, you never believed in me, you never believed in Christmas at all. You would just sit back, and let it go by, every year, taking sole enjoyment in watching others enjoy the season, but never really enjoying it yourself."_

"_Shut the fuck up!" The small boy snapped out, trying to get lose. If it weren't for the situation, Gin would have found that whole thing humerus The debacle continued, becoming harder, causing Ichimaru to speak up, telling the small taicho not to listen to him. However, the tirade went on. "My Christmas wish, is to find my parents that don't even exist anymore!"_

_Ichimaru found himself flinching at this, his eyes opening wide. Never in his life, had it occurred to him, that his son had desperately wanted something. Baraggan smirked. "Don't worry... I can send you to your death so you can see them!"_

_Gin found himself yelling out the boy's name, as Baraggan released his attack. His face twisted in horror, as he saw his own child, die in front of him._

At that point, Ichimaru sat up, the futon sheets falling away from him, his upper clothing laying beside his bedding. He faced the doorway, just as Jinta opened it up, letting the sunshine in, and making him realize he and the small taicho had slept in for some time. He glared at the red headed boy, only to receive a glare back. "Leave..."

At that, Jinta closed the door with a slam, and Gin placed a hand on his forehead, brushing away some of his silver hair. Glancing next to him, he saw that the small taicho had moved from his own futon during the night, and into his. His face twisted into a more realistic smile. "Shiro-chan..."

Toshiro moved a bit in his sleep. "Chichi..."

This startled Ichimaru, as he watched the small child, a frown passing over his face. He lay back down, and brushed some white strands of hair away from the teal eyes. "Toshiro... it's time to wake up."

At that, the two eyes opened up. The child taicho startled, sitting up himself, fright or irritation written on his face. "What..."

"You're the one who crawled into my futon last night, silly," Gin stated, sitting back up again, watching as the small boy's face turned red, and he began to move away. However, Ichimaru grabbed him, and pulled him into his lap. "Not so fast. I want to know how you're doing today." One hand reached up to scratch, only to be pushed away. "No itching."

Toshiro held out his hand, and watched as it shook rapidly "i really need to get my reiatsu replenished..."

"You never have been good at controlling it, have you?" Gin reached up and rubbed his head.

"You weren't effected by it?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times.

"No..." Ichimaru wrapped his arms around the small boy's chest, and leaned his head against the top of Toshiro's head. "I promise that I am going to protect you, to the best of my ability."

The small taicho found himself flinching. "You were acting so obtuse about your involvement yesterday."

"_I was still in your dream world, when he got you kid. I saw you die in front of my eyes_," Gin closed his eyes, simply keeping a tight hold on the child, and not speaking his mind, lest he give the boy the wrong idea.

It was then, that Tessai came into the room, with a bowl of rice porridge. "I sensed that the young taicho's reiatsu is having some problems. This should help get up his strength" When he had set it down to the side of the other two males, he got up and left.

Toshiro wiggled his way out of Gin's grip_. _"You can go get something to eat."

"I'm fine," Gin stated. "I've eaten more regularly then you, and I can better control my reiatsu better then you. Unlike you, I'm almost recovered." Hitsugaya's hand reached down, to pick up the spoon, only to have it shake uncontrollably Ichimaru took it from him, and scooped some food up. "Here..."

Instead of complying, Toshiro gave him a rather irritated look. "I didn't ask for your..." The bite was shoved into his mouth, and then the silver haired man thumped Toshiro hard on the forehead with the spoon.

"Seriously... you might not have asked for my help, but..." Gin found his head turning, as the door open. The orange haired substitute soul reaper was in the door way, along with Rukia. "It seems we have guests."

"Hey... Toshiro, how are you doing?" Ichigo asked, glaring at the man, as did the Kuchiki girl. "I still don't trust you Ichimaru."

Both came in, and sat near by. Rukia glanced the small taicho up and down, noting the visible rash on the small child's body. "That looks pretty bad."

"Hopefully the worst is over," Gin stated firmly, spooning up more food. "Open up."

Instead, Toshiro clamped his mouth shut, and turned his head away, his cheeks puffing out in ire. Ichigo shook his head. "Come on... Toshiro can feed himself."

"Really? You think I should put a spoon in his hand?" Ichimaru stated firmly, then said something that surprised every one._ "_Of, if a Hollow comes, maybe I should just place his zampaktuo straight into his hand, so that he can fight? Can you hold onto your zampaktuo, Shiro-chan?"

"Hitsugaya is a taicho of the gotei thirteen, which is more then you are now by a long shot." Rukia blurted out. "You have no right..."

She stopped though, when Toshiro held out the palm of his hand, which shook uncontrollably "He was simply stating the truth. If I am unable to hold a spoon, I'm going to be unable to defend myself."

"It's that bad then?" Ichigo stated.

Toshiro simply nodded his head, and opened his mouth, for Gin to pop the spoon into his mouth. The silver haired man let out a sigh of relief "Thank you."

It was then that Jinta opened the door, as Toshiro had the spoon in his mouth. He began to point a finger and say something, when Tessai grabbed him. "I've told you to leave them alone."

As Gin removed the spoon, Hitsugaya shook his head. "He's been like that since we woke up."

Rukia cupped her chin. "Might I ask, why you're letting Ichimaru Gin, who is a known traitor to help you?"

"It's either that, or ask for help from one of the shop people," Ichigo sighed. "That much is obvious." However, he cocked an eyebrow. "I do want to know what happened to calling Ichimaru a pedophile, Toshiro."

"Nani!" Rukia jumped at this, as Toshiro chocked on his food. She made to jump at Ichimaru, only to be grabbed by Ichigo. "Hitsugaya Taicho..."

"I don't think... there was another explanation for his behavior, simple as that," the boy stated, folding his legs up, and glancing at the ground. "However, if I find you _lied _to me Ichimaru, I will personally kill you."

"I think Rangiku has that right, whether I did or did not lie to you," the man stated firmly, spooning another spoon full into the boy's mouth.

"But... how do you... why do you trust him right now?" Rukia cast a worried look at Ichigo.

"Ichimaru said someone I know I can trust, can confirm it," the boy stated, another bite being shoved into his mouth.

"Let me guess, Rangiku?" the substitute soul reaper guessed.

"No..." Toshiro stated. "My grandmother... and I would rather not talk about what is going on."

Rukia gave a dangerous look at the silver haired man, but it was Ichigo's turn to hold up a hand to stop her. "I have an idea what is going on, but I'll give you the chance to explain to us, when you are in fact ready. We came to ask, if you had any ideas for the Christmas Party."

The small taicho gave them a weak grin, reaching up to scratch, as his hand shook, only to have Ichimaru grab his hand before he could. "I don't celebrate Christmas." He saw the rather disappointed look on Rukia's face. "That _doesn't_ mean I won't come. I might actually get into the so called spirit this year, though it is doubtful. I just don't... it's never been something I felt like I belonged doing."

_Author's note – Eighth fanfic to cross 100 reviews._


	18. Awkward II

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Awkward~**

"... it's never something I felt like I belonged doing," was the response that all three in the room heard. Rukia scowled at the small taicho, who glanced at the ground, a type of melancholy setting in on his facial features. This caused the female shinigami to glance away, her eyes alighting on Ichimaru Gin. The man was looking right at the boy, almost as if he were contemplating something.

"Well... I guess we'll see you at the Christmas party," the female stated, standing up and heading to the door. Ichigo gave her a funny look, almost as if he wanted to stay. "We should let Hitsugaya Taicho rest." At that, the male complied, standing up and walking out of the room with her, scratching his head as he did so. They stepped out of the room, sliding the door shut behind them. Rukia gave a rather uneasy look. "Explain to me what this whole pedophile thing is about."

"It's not something to worry about," Kurosaki stated firmly. "I mean..."

The small shinigami turned to him, her facial expressions telling him that she was completely series in what she was saying. "I know that you and Hitsugaya Taicho are choosing to trust Ichimaru Gin. I however, do not. You specifically asked him a question, then brushed it off. That isn't an accusation that is easily brushed off."

"Well, as Toshiro stated, Gin may have told him a lie," again, Ichigo was scratching his head. They walked towards the entrance of the shop. When they got to the front, they found Jinta in a rather pissed off mood. They proceeded to head out towards the street, when the red haired boy ran up to talk to them. This caused the orange haired teen to turn to look at him, along with Rangiku. "What is it?"

"I've tried talking to someone about this, but no one will listen to me," Jinta stated, his eyes glancing away.

"This wouldn't happen to do with Hitsugaya Taicho?" Rukia asked, suddenly turning to the boy.

"Yesterday, Hitsugaya Toshiro went out with Ichimaru Gin. I don't know where they went, but when they came back, that brat taicho wasn't acting like he normally does," the red head muttered.

"So... how was Toshiro acting?" Ichigo asked, seeming no where near as concerned as his companion about the whole matter.

"When they got back from where ever they had gone, Ichimaru was pulling on his sleeve and he simply followed. "I know that Urahara said that Hitsugaya Taicho wasn't feeling good, but the fact is, I don't get why... if he was willing to try and jump me when I said something simple, why he didn't even try to go after that man."

"That's it?" The orange haired substitute shinigami decided to turn away, but found the preteens voice piping up with a response.

"It wasn't the only thing Kurosaki," came the words. "Why did he have to strip down to his underwear?" At that, Rukia turned towards Ichigo, her face paled. Kurosaki reached up and scratched his head. Before he could say anything, Jinta continued. "And then I saw Ichimaru... I saw him get to close to Hitsugaya Taicho. And..."

The Kuchiki noble spoke up, noticing the young ones face suddenly turning red. "There is something you aren't exactly comfortable saying."

"It's something that Hitsugaya Taicho said to Ichimaru. Something that he wouldn't say unless..." Jinta paused. "Unless he was in a sexual relationship with the man."

Rukia paled some more. "These words..."

"Hitsugaya asked Ichimaru if he loved him. Seriously, why else would he have asked that question otherwise," Jinta stated firmly. "They _did _sleep together last night and this morning Gin was feeding him."

"You're thinking to much into it," Ichigo stated, turning to leave.

"You! Urahara! Matsumoto! Tessai! Now you!" Jinta's mood snapped. "Fine... I'll go find someone who will listen to me!"

As the boy stormed off, Ichigo made to move too leave, but Rukia grabbed his sleeve. "We're not leaving."

"Rukia, this is something that Toshiro has to figure out for himself," the substitute shinigami stated, moving forward again, only to find the female moving to block his path.

"I want to go and talk to Hitsugaya Taicho about these things," the female stated firmly. "You can either come with me, or go on your own way. But if you walk away from this, if you walk away from someone you claim to be your friend."

"Fine... but if Toshiro gets mad at us, it isn't my fault," the teenager grunted as they headed back in. When they got in, the boy was now eating on his own, slowly.

Ichimaru's head popped up. "You two are back all ready?"

To their surprise, Toshiro's head popped up, some of his food falling out of his mouth. He then weakly tried cleaning up his food. His cheeks flushed a little from embarrassment "I'm seriously fine."

"One of Urahara's shop assistants is in fact saying otherwise," Rukia stated firmly, causing the boy's head to jolt up.

"What did _he _say?" the boy grumbled.

"The best way to put it is, Hitsugaya Taicho, he accused Ichimaru Gin of being a pedophile," the female shinigami stated firmly. "Ichigo confirmed that at one point you accused him of being one too, so I can't take this lightly."

At that, the small taicho glared at the female. The temperature dropped and then began to fluctuate. "This is none of your business"

While Ichigo shivered, Rukia simply sat down in front of the small taicho. "I'll remind you that I too have an ice zampaktuo, so your little tantrum doesn't effect me. It is my business as a member of the gotei thirteen to look after the other members."

"I am also a captain Kuchiki," the small boy stated, his mood rather dark.

"Ichimaru Gin himself says that right now you can't defend yourself, so I think I can easily take you on right now. I am using my judgment and the facts point to you being in danger. You have these choices Hitsugaya Taicho. You can either come with Ichigo and me as we do the shopping we need for the Christmas Party, you'll deal with me asking you questions and you explaining away what Jinta saw, or you tell us right now what is going on."

"I don't _do _Christmas,_" _the boy muttered. He then glared at Ichigo. "I trusted you!"

"This wasn't my idea Toshiro," the substitute shinigami replied.

"I know you don't _do _Christmas. We aren't taking you along to hear your opinion on things, we would be taking you along to keep an eye on you and make sure that you have a certain distance from Ichimaru Gin." Rukia crossed her arms.

"I _can't _tell you because I _don't _know if he told me the truth_," _the small boy grumbled. "Please... I don't feel comfortable answering questions either."

"Toshiro..." Ichigo spoke up. "I am willing to leave this alone until you find out the truth yourself. Rukia is not. She's not going to just walk away."

At that, the two teal eyes closed up. "What did he see?"

"One of the things he commented on was the fact that Ichimaru Gin mentioned you needing to strip down to your underwear," Rukia stated.

"That?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow, then pointed his finger at the rash on his arm, which appeared on his other limps and neck.

"I see that you have a rash, but why couldn't you heal it with kido?" the female asked.

"Because it is an allergic reaction," the boy stated. At that, he glanced away, not looking anyone in the eye. He then began to pull up his shirt, his cheeks flushing, only to have Rukia pull it down.

"Hitsugaya Taicho! What are you doing!" the female stated as the boy's cheeks flushed.

"He was trying to show you something Rukia," Ichigo muttered. "It also looks like you have to put on some more medicine." At that, Toshiro's hand reached to itch at his skin, only to have Ichimaru Gin karate chop him on the top of the head.

"No itching."

Rukia's eyes went wide at this, but she carefully lifted up the small boy's shirt, then winced when she came to realize it went over his whole body. She then pushed it back down. "That wasn't the only thing though."

"That doesn't surprise me," Toshiro muttered. He was suddenly moving to leave. "I am sick and tired of him butting in where he isn't wanted. He hasn't got a _clue _what is going on. I am going to hurt him." The boy stood up on his feet, wobbling due to his body being weak still. Ichimaru moved fast and pulled him down, pinning him to the ground. "Let me go!"

"I'm not going to let you go do something stupid," Gin stated firmly. "You are _not _going to go after that boy. In your condition he'll pulverize you."

"I don't care, you aren't my boss!" the boy snapped out loud.

At that, Gin's eyes opened up. "You may not want to listen to me, may never choose to, whether I lied to you or not, but I will tell you, if you do choose to go through this, I _will _let granny know what stupidity you're trying to get up to. Do you understand me?"

Toshiro's eyes opened wide and then he replied meekly. "Hai..."

Rukia's eye twitched. Her voice was rather dark. "Jinta also says that you slept with Ichimaru last night."

A shade of shock spread on the preteens face, his face paling and then his cheeks flushing up. He opened his mouth to say something, but then it snapped shut as Ichimaru moved away. "That..."

"Hitsugaya Taicho, do you have an answer for that?" Kuchiki pressed.

"Get an official order from Yamamoto." Two teal eyes snapped back open, irritation written all over his face.

"Hitsugaya Taicho. If you don't answer. Do you know what I have to assume?" Rukia folded her arms across her chest.

"What you think happened, didn't happen!" Toshiro clenched his hands so tightening that his knuckles turned white.

"Why would Ichimaru have you sleep with him." Rukia's voice was firm, making it clear that she wasn't pleased with the whole situation. "I can only think of one reason why."

"He didn't have me sleep with him! He was already asleep when I went..." At that, the small taicho's face flushed up and then he glanced at the ground.

"You _really _don't want to know what popped into my head," the female grumbled. "Hitsugaya Taicho... this is serious."

"All I did was... all I did..." Toshiro's cheeks flushed up even more.

"You're the one who climbed in with him," Rukia sighed. "I got that. I think you are confused about certain things, even what the problem with this situation is about. It's as if you know he's a pedophile, but your simply accepting it as it is."

"That isn't true!" The small taicho's red face showed he was quite troubled.

Ichimaru quickly spoke up though. "Go with them, Shiro-chan."

The younger three in the room glanced up, a bit surprised. Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "What? I don't understand."

"Neither do I for that matter." the female commented.

"You're starting to go into a territory that chibi taicho isn't comfortable with." Gin placed his arms behind his back.

"Don't you mean an area that you are uncomfortable him talking about," Rukia muttered.

"Nope. Shiro-chan, you should be getting dressed," Ichimaru sat up, only to catch the small female's glare. He then let out a sigh. "All right, all right. I will go and leave you all alone. Chibi taicho, just get ready to do. It is a better deal then having to answer questions." The man then simply slid out of the room.

Toshiro glanced at the ground. "Why are you pushing this?"

At that, the female's look simply faltered It wasn't a look of anger, or disappointment, simply concern. "Hitsugaya Taicho. Haven't you, whenever you talked to Ichimaru Gin, felt a bad feeling about you. Almost like you had snakes choking you?" As she asked, Ichigo went and grabbed the small taicho's pile of clothing, tossing it at the boy.

"Like snakes choking you?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "No, I've never felt like that. I always felt like he was up to something, hiding things from me, but I never felt that kind of feeling. Then again, I tended to see him when he was around... my fukutaicho." He made to get dressed, but then froze. He got up and walked over to a small bag at the side of the room, pulling out something. He then shoved it the way of Kurosaki. "Please?"

"Ahh, yeah, you need some more of this on, don't you?" The teenager stated, going behind the small boy and squeezing the goo out. He lifted up Toshiro's shirt, finishing in a few minutes. Toshiro then proceeded to put the rest on himself. He then pulled the clothing on, rather irritated about the whole situation.

He then got up to head out with Jericho and Rukia, only to find Ichigo pulled aside by Ichimaru. When the substitute shinigami walked up, the boy asked. "Did he tell you?"

"No. He simply had a request," the substitute shinigami stated. Toshiro's face twisted in irritation.


	19. Shopping Again

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Shopping Again~**

The three young ones walked out to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come and pick them up. Hitsugaya Toshiro fidgeted, scraping his foot against the ground, his eyes focused not on what was in front, but what was down. Rukia leaned over to whisper into Ichigo's ear. "What was the request Gin asked of you?"

"He asked, if Toshiro were to ask what a birthstone was, not to tell him. He's supposed to guess," Kurosaki stated, his hands in his pockets.

Rukia blinked a couple of times. "What is a birthstone?"

This started Ichigo and he turned towards her. "You don't know?"

"What are you two talking about?" The white haired boy piped up, his eyes suddenly glaring at them.

"Nothing." Rukia gave him a slightly guilty look, just as the bus pulled up. The three climbed onto the bus and went to sit down. Despite being crowded, there were enough seats. Toshiro's hand went and grabbed onto Ichigo's right pant leg, while the other grabbed onto the seat. The small female watched, curiosity written all over her face.

After a few minutes, Ichigo pulled out from his pocket a small device with headphones and turned it on, placing one of the pieces into his ear. Satisfied, he placed the headphones into the small taicho's ears, causing the boy to jump. However, as Hitsugaya glanced at the physically older male, Kurosaki spoke up. "Close your eyes. You'll be able to forget that there are a ton of people here. "

This caused the preteen to relax and to loosen his grip. The substitute shinigami tapped the boy's shoulder as the bus pulled to a stop. Getting up, he followed the teenager off the bus, handing him back the headphones. Rukia pulled out her list. "Yuzu-chan is going to be getting the grocery supplies for the dishes."

"Hell, Yuzu is planning on making all the food. That is a good thing as Orihime would simply mess it all up." Ichigo placed his hands into his pockets. "We are though, supposed to pick up some decorations for the party."

They walked along, only to have Rukia pause. "Hitsugaya Taicho, why did you ask Ichimaru Gin if he loved you?"

At that, Toshiro froze. "You said if I went with you, there would be no more questions."

"Sorry..." The females face though twisted up in frustration. She choose to walk ahead, taking a good look at the list.

"So, did Ichimaru answer your question," Ichigo asked.

This caused the small taicho to bristle. "Why would he?"

"Question is, why would you ask that kind of question?" the teenager asked.

"Are you trying to finger him for being a pedophile too? Because he isn't." Toshiro muttered, frustrated at the pressure.

"No. I think I have an idea of what is going on," the boy stated. "Simple as that."

"Oh... what. Go ahead and tell me what you think is going on. It isn't as if Kuchiki-san is anywhere near by," the small boy muttered.

"Well, if I am wrong, don't get mad at me, all right. I am guessing that Ichimaru Gin is your biological father?" The substitute shinigami acted cheerful about the whole thing.

This caused the small taicho to pause, giving the teenager a surprised look. He then glanced away, shoving his hands into his pocket. "i don't know how you guessed, but he could also be lying to me about this."

"It would be a cruel joke if he was," Ichigo sighed. "So, did you get your answer?"

"Ichimaru gave me no answer I really don't want to go into it anymore then that," Toshiro stated firmly.

"I won't push it either." Ichigo stated.

"I didn't realize that I had moved to sleep with Gin last night, honest I didn't," the boy muttered.

"You slept walked?" Kurosaki blinked a couple of times.

"What do you mean Hitsugaya Taicho slept walked?" Rukia stated coming back in a hurry. "I think I found a good place to shop for decorations."

"I..." Toshiro's face suddenly flushed up.

"You were willing to talk to Ichigo about that," Rukia stated. "Sleep walking isn't that big of a deal."

"It is when you end up sleeping with your fukutaicho at night!" the small boy snapped out. However, this caused his face to suddenly turn bright red and then glance away. "It happens when I'm sick, or have a nightmare, or I'm under stress. I have to sleep with someone. Matsumoto happens to be the most handy person."

"Then the reason that you slept with Ichimaru Gin last night," Rukia frowned at this. "That still doesn't explain why you asked Gin that question. Jinta made it sound like you _liked _him."

"Huh?" The small taicho blinked a couple of times.

"Like as in..." The female shinigami garnished a frustrated look on her face. "Well, you know how a guy begins to like girl, or a girl begins to like a boy. That kind of like. Except, with you its a guy liking a guy."

"That is just gross! I don't know any guy who likes guys!" Hitsugaya bristled, his entire face twisting up in frustration.

"Well then, do you like girls?" Rukia asked, bending slightly forward.

This only caused the boy to bristle even more. "If I like a girl, that would mean I was a pervert. No. I don't like a girl."

"What?" The female bent closer, so that her eyes were level and right in front of the small taicho's.

"He's still at the girl's have cooties stage Rukia," Ichigo piped up.

Toshiro's face turned toward Kurosaki, confusion written all over it. "What are cooties?"

This however caused Rukia's face to suddenly lighten up from the serious look. "Well, I don't know what they are either." Ichigo had a rather funny look on his face. However, Rukia grabbed the small taicho's hand and pulled him into the shop, Kurosaki following behind them. They walked around the place, picking up lights and other decorative items. Rukia kept wandering off to look at things.

"Kurosaki, what would you get your father for Christmas?" Hitsugaya suddenly piped up.

"A woo-pie cushion," Ichigo stated, his voice rather strained, his eyes narrowing.

"Because taicho likes to play pranks on people?" The small taicho looked up at him, only to have Ichigo turn to him, a rather shocked look on his face.

"I wasn't serious. I was just irritated with him. You're thinking of something to give him for Christmas?" Kurosaki watched the young ones reaction, as the small boy flinched. "What about Matsumoto?"

"She's easy... I usually give her candies and she's happy. But this year, Gin picked out what I'm giving her." Toshiro's mouth twisted up.

"You aren't happy about that, are you?" Ichigo shook his head.

"It is a necklace with a restroom sign charm with a topaz stone. Do you know what topaz symbolizes?" The small taicho grumbled out, and didn't give them a chance to respond. "It represents _fidelity _and _love_. Sometimes... sometimes I think he needs to just get his mind out of the gutter."

"Toshiro, you're the one who needs to get your mind out of the gutter. Believe me, I know exactly what you are talking about and it doesn't mean what you think it does. Restroom sign... good grief." A chuckle came out of Ichigo's mouth.

"He said something along the lines that I should get the whole thing." The boy piped up. His eyes then went wide. "What is a birthstone?"

"He asked me not to tell you," Ichigo laughed. "That, and not to itch. And don't ask Rukia. She actually doesn't know either. She told me herself."

"Do you know where I can find something like a woo-pie cushion?" the small taicho piped up.

The substitute shinigami's face twisted up in disbelief. "You are serious about giving him _that_?"

"Well, if it turns out he lied, I'll just use it on him. Though... that might back fire as he _likes _that kind of thing." The small shinigami puzzled over the whole thing.

"You... aren't used to getting people gifts, are you?" Ichigo muttered.

Toshiro opened his mouth, only to have Rukia bounce over. "Hitsugaya Taicho is wanting to buy presents for people?"

"He wants a prank gift for Gin," Kurosaki muttered.

"You know you aren't likely to prank him, right?" The female shook her head.

"That isn't..." Hitsugaya paused, glancing to the side.

"I think you can find the stuff you are thinking of over here. It is always the first place that my dad heads for," Ichigo sighed. He walked over and glanced around, not at all amused by the prank items, but then... neither was the small taicho.

"Why would people want... a machine that makes that kind of sounds?" Toshiro sighed.

"You mean a fart machine?" Kurosaki shook his head. "I know that one of my friends at school would get a kick out of it... and I have yet to figure out what he thinks is so funny. Then again, he wasn't impressed with me making good grades either."

"How about this?" Rukia asked, a huge smile on her face as she held out an object titled _can of snakes_.

"Umm..." The small boy paled, not at all sure about the item.

"It fits him quite well!" the female insisted.

"That is because of the fact you associate him as being snake like," Ichigo sighed.

"Who else do you need to shop for?" The small shinigami female was in a gleeful mood.

"Hinamori..." Toshiro stated, watching Rukia stick the can into the top of the cart.

"Girl's like chappies!" the Kuchiki female insisted.

"They do..." The small taicho had a rather skeptical look on his face. Ichigo had a similar look of befuddlement.

Rukia grabbed the sleeve of the small taicho and dragged him over to one of the tables she had been looking at. "Aren't they adorable?"

"You were harping on me earlier, and now you're an overly chipper mood. Do you not see the problem with that?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the female.

Her response actually caused him to blink a couple of times. "We have you away from Ichimaru, don't we? I am hoping that I can convince you, you're not safe, Hitsugaya Taicho."

"I am perfectly safe..." the boy grumbled, glancing at the small bunnies on the table. They were in various colors, with different things on their tummies. He picked up three of them, which Ichigo commented on. Toshiro blinked at him. "Hinamori isn't the only girl I know whom I give a present to each year. "

"How do you pick out the gifts then?" Kurosaki shook his head at the child.

"M... my fukutaicho normally helps me," Hitsugaya mumbled, his eyes falling to the ground.

"Couldn't she come help you? There are only a few days left, but she could come see you," Rukia pondered.

"She has come to see me. We aren't... exactly talking," Toshiro muttered, following the two as they did more Christmas shopping.

"Does she know about Gin and the fact that..." However, the Kuchiki noble found herself interrupted and she picked up the phone. "Ukitake Taicho?" The next thing both males knew, Rukia was explaining everything that she thought was going on to the man. After she finished though, she remained silent for quite some time. She nodded her head a few times, then got off the phone. "Ukitake Taicho came to the living world to specifically talk to Hitsugaya Taicho."

"I better go pay for these and head back." However, Toshiro then paused, looking at Rukia. "You aren't going to try and act like a bodyguard Surely with him there, you can trust I'll be safe, right?"

"Actually..." Rukia lacked any form of smile on her face. "He said that while he appreciates me being concerned, I really blew things out of proportion. I am really sorry for that. I honesty thought from what Urahara's assistant said, that something was wrong."

"No bother." Hitsugaya began to pick up the items to head to the cash register. However, the female placed a hand stopping him.

"I'll pay for these and finish up the shopping," the female insisted.

"You don't have to," Toshiro's teal eyes looked at her in confusion.

"After what I did, I need to make it up to you," Rukia insisted.

"All right," the small boy muttered, as Ichigo pulled him away.


	20. Yes or No

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Yes or No~**

Ichimaru stated up at the ceiling, his mood rather dark. Every time he turned around, things kept getting more and more messed up. He also saw the confusion written on the small taicho's face, not to mention the frustration. He couldn't be sure what was going on in the child's mind, whether it be anger, confusion, or a combination of both. He was startled by a rather cheerful voice from the doorway.

"Merry Christmas Ichimaru," came the voice of the thirteenth division captain.

"Ukitake Taicho... cheerful as always," Gin stated, his head snapping up, his irritation evident. He then caught site of Nanao. "_What _is _she _doing here?"

"She knows," Ukitake chuckled rather nervously. He moved over to sit in front of the silver haired man who leaned up against the wall.

"You know that he isn't going to like that, someone else being in on this. I told him, it was up to him who he told about this, not myself." Ichimaru folded his arms and glanced away.

"I didn't exactly give Ukitake Taicho a choice in the matter. I would have followed him and found out one way or another," Ise commented.

Jushiro pulled a package out of his sleeve, his normal cheerfulness returning. "Where is Shiro-chan?"

"Toshiro... he's out with the two love birds." Gin let out a chuckle. "By that I mean the substitute shinigami and the Kuchiki girl."

"You... you have a major problem with things that are taboo, don't you!" Nanao snapped. "Actually, you _don't _know how things are supposed to normally work. Life isn't a game Ichimaru." The man simply raised his eyebrows in amusement. The female then pushed up her glasses. "Let me rephrase that. You don't know how to properly deal with emotions and because of that you do the wrong things."

"You are partially right. I don't have emotions though, so..." Ichimaru piped up, only to find himself interrupted

"That is _not _what your own mother says. You don't at all handle them right. Hell, your own son handles his emotions better then you, and he is known for having problems that frustrate his mother to no end at times. Actually, that is coupled with _having _Rangiku's temperament" Ise made her point clear.

Ukitake shook his head. "On a needed change of subject, we should call Hitsugaya Taicho to let him know that we are here."

"That may or may not be a good idea." Ichimaru voice had a venom to it.

"Excuse me, but I haven't done anything wrong in being here," Nanao grumbled. "I _have _a right to be here."

"Because you are Ran-chan's friend?" Gin folded his arms. "This has nothing to do with that."

"I wouldn't cut Ise Fukutaicho out of the picture Gin," Ukitake stated firmly. "She is only planning on helping."

"That wasn't what I meant, but something else," Ichimaru snapped out.

"Enough! You are not a child anymore!" Jushiro retorted, causing Nanao to flinch, but for the younger of the males still retained the glare on his face. "She has personally told me that she's only going to try and convince Rangiku to tell the Shiro-chan about the truth herself. Now if you don't mind, I am going to go call Hitsugaya Taicho."

"And I told you, that wasn't what I meant about it not being a good idea." As the man said this, the door slid open and a red head peeked in. This caused the man to move quickly to the door, in an attempt to grab the preteen, only to have the child disappear.

"What was that about?" Ukitake asked, smiling as he always did.

"Simply Ichimaru being childish as he always has been. You're too old to be bullying children," Ise muttered, pushing up her glasses.

At that, the door clicked shut and Gin turned to her, irritation written all over his face. "_That _child has been bothersome."

"How so?" The thirteenth division taicho asked, not at all able to imagine how this could be possibly with a child.

Gin went back and sat down. "Let's just say the Kuchiki girl doesn't trust me and thus does not want to let a certain child near me due to some things that a certain other child said."

"I'll talk to her about that," Ukitake stated, getting up and heading out of the room to make the phone call.

Nanao though continued to watch Ichimaru, then piped up. "Why do I get the idea that there is more to this story then what you are letting on."

"Why do I get the idea that there is something about why you are here and getting involved that you aren't telling me? I know that you are good friends with Matsumoto, but I would think that you would be likely to side with her on this one. Actually, you have made it clear that you don't like me." Gin's face became that smirking glare and narrowed eyes that was more characteristic of himself.

"I don't think you understand the kind of bond she and I have. Did you know that she told me once about the baby she lost?" Ise folded her arms as she stood there, glaring at the man.

"She didn't lose the baby," Ichimaru piped up, pointing out the obvious fact.

"But when she told me, we both thought that the baby was lost, even a girl. She said I was Godmother to that child. In other words she made me Hitsugaya Toshiro's Godmother," Nanao stated. "I am _not _doing this for Matsumoto, but for him. Particularly until you do tell Rangiku, she can't step in and do what she personally feels is best for him."

"How much do you know about the situation between Matsumoto and myself?" the man stated, watching the female carefully.

"I know that Matsumoto is not wanting to talk to you. I also know that Hitsugaya is upset with her due to the fact that he feels he's being used as a replacement, but I know for a fact that Rangiku choose not to tell him due to the fact that she didn't want him to think that." The female finally simply stayed by the doorway.

"As you can see, the situation is complicated," Gin leaned back, staring at the ceiling, acting like nothing was the matter, that smirk all over his face.

"I am going to try to convince her that it is a good idea to talk to you and that she should also tell him the truth. I can't guarantee it will help though." The look that the man gave her simply was filled with surprise, thus there being no need for him to comment on this.

**M**

When the two young males arrived at the shop, they found Ukitake waiting for the two of them outside of the shop. The man gave Toshiro a grin, but the grin turned out to be rather weak. "I found out what you wanted to know, Shiro-chan."

Two teal eyes widened as the child taicho's attention was caught. They then softened into a small frown "You don't look like the answer you have for me is one you're happy with."

"I think that either answer would in fact be problematic," Ukitake stated. "On one side, he lied to you, on the other side, if he didn't lie to you, part of what you believed about yourself will have turned out to be a lie."

"The answer is an affirmative to what Ichimaru told Toshiro, isn't it?" Ichigo piped up, causing Ukitake to raise his eyebrows.

This caused Ukitake to open his mouth, not sure what to say. Hitsugaya piped up. "How many times do I have to tell you it is Hitsugaya Taicho? Ukitake, Kurosaki figured out what is going on, on his own."

"I guess the best way to word it is that you were in fact born in Soul Society," Ukitake uttered, watching the small white haired youth, wondering how the child would react.

"Oh..." Toshiro simply began to walk into the shop, not saying anything else.

This caused Ichigo to hurry over and grab the small boy, pulling on the small shoulder which caused the boy to turn around. "And?"

"And what?" Two teal eyes blinked, not so much in confusion. A dullness though was there.

"Hitsugaya Taicho... you just found out who your parents are," Ukitake stated.

"Honestly, I don't know how to react," Toshiro frowned, his shoulders slumping.

"What about what happened to you and Matsumoto the other day?" the thirteenth taicho's face twisted up in worry, his smile disappearing

"She refused to talk to me about that..." Toshiro mummered.

"About what?" Ichigo asked, walking over to the small taicho.

This caused the small taicho to let out a deep breath of air. "Matsumoto came and visited me yesterday. I asked her why she always avoids my birthday, but she refused to tell me the reason. She avoids my birthday because the day I was born, she believes that she lost a baby girl. To Rangiku, I am just a replacement for the child she lost."

"Toshiro... you are the child that she lost. You can't be a replacement," the orange haired teen mummered.

"The thing is Kurosaki, she doesn't know I am the child she lost. She says that it is none of my business about what happened. But it is my business as to why she tries avoiding my birthday every year," the boy began to fidget, scratching his head as he did so.

"Not to mention Ichimaru didn't answer that question either," Ichigo stated.

"With him it is understandable. I mean, you don't know what he is thinking in that mind of his." Toshiro glanced at the ground. "I trusted Matsumoto. I've trusted her for a long time. Him... I never have."

"Is this really a matter of trust though," Ukitake asked, watching the small taicho still.

"To me it is. She told me a long time ago to be upfront when something is bothering you, but she hasn't been able to explain why she happened to ignore my birthday unless Hinamori brought it up," Toshiro shook his head in frustration.

"I think there are other reasons why you are upset. And I am not saying that trust isn't part of it. I think you're also upset that she gets depressed around your birthday," Kurosaki sighed.

"I never mentioned that she got depressed around that time, but yes. She does every year, for about a weak before. I never thought about it, but the thing is, she's depressed because she wants her baby. But that baby she wants is right there. I've been there for forty years now, just about." Toshiro glanced at the ground.

"I know that we can't do much about the situation, but the thing is, you have me and Kurosaki there to support you on this and to talk to. You've also got Ise Fukutaicho to talk to," Ukitake piped up.

"Wait... she knows?" The small taicho's eyes went wide.

"I know you trusted me to keep this a secret, but she refused to leave me alone when I went out to see your grandmother. She found out from Matsumoto too a rather one sided story." The man gave Toshiro a smile. "She does in fact only mean to help. I think she may want to talk to you about something."

"Talk to me? I don't know what she would want to talk to me about." The boy pulled back slightly into a corner.

"Why don't you talk to her and find out." Ukitake's words were simple, but obviously confused the small boy.


	21. Godmother

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Godmother~**

"Why don't you talk to her and find out." Ukitake taicho smiled at the boy, despite the fact that Toshiro clearly showed that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"I guess." Toshiro moved over to the door and slid it open. "Ise Fukutaicho?"

"Yes?" the female stated, her head jolting up.

"Ukitake Taicho says that you wish to talk to me about something." The boy only peered in with one of his teal eyes.

"Yes, there is something that I wish to talk to you about," the female stated, getting up and moving towards the door.

"I think Ichigo and I'll go and talk to Gin," Ukitake stated, grabbing the sleeve of the substitute shinigami's living world clothing. The man slipped in and they could hear the soft mummering of words on the other side of the door. "The small taicho is rather hurting. He's definitely attached to his mother."

"I already knew that Ukitake," Ichimaru shook his head, simply remaining his usual smirking self. However, his tone was dry, without the usual wit that he applied to everything.

"I am personally curious as to why Rukia thought that you were a pedophile," the white haired man spoke up.

"Ahh... yes, you would, considering..." Gin pressed a hand against his forehead. "I won't go there as the joke is inappropriate and I know you aren't that way."

"But to the point..." Ukitake shook his head, raising an eyebrow at the young man's comment, or the comment that almost happened.

"Jinta happened to tell Rukia and me some things. For example, Jinta mistook when Ichimaru was helping Toshiro with covering his rash with the medicine. " Ichigo stated.

"It was rather funny seeing that girl's reaction when Shiro-chan tried showing her the reason, instead of using words. I mean, he could have told her it was all over his body, rather then pulling up his shirt," Gin shook his head.

"That is Hitsugaya for you though. He tends to take the least normal response . He doesn't always realize that the actions he takes are sometimes... well, odd." Ukitake let out his own chuckle.

"Toshiro also slept with Gin last night." Ichigo stated.

"So he was sleep walking again," the male stated firmly. The man turned his eyes towards Gin. "You're son has a major trust of you.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Ichimaru stated, shaking his head at this comment.

"Your mother, she mentioned something that she wishes for you to tell Toshiro yourself." Ukitake's tone was firm, and his mouth was in a frown rather then a smile. "May I ask Gin, what where Toshiro's first words?"

At that, the room suddenly tensed up. Ichimaru's eyes snapped open and he glared at the man. However, he turned his head at the ceiling. "His first word. More like his first sentence."

"I don't understand. If you gave Toshiro up all this time and haven't been in his life, then you wouldn't know that." Ichigo shook his head.

"Except I couldn't stay away from that little one. I figured, once he started speaking, that I could simply leave, knowing that he had enough of a start with everything. I've been watching, truth be told, from the sides. I stayed to long. Toshiro, being not a normal child, held off speaking words until … " Gin paused, closing his eyes.

"He called you father and you knew then that you wouldn't be able to look him in the eye," Ukitake stated firmly.

"That child is precious, truth be told. When he said that to me, called me that name, I had to tell him that I wasn't his father. I lied to him." Gin tapped his fingers. "It is something that I should eventually tell him, but I think... maybe I should let things calm down and fix some... other problems I've caused."

"I guess that would be a wise decision,." Ukitake gave a warning. "Don't spend too much time though, trying to make things mesh. Shiro-chan, despite acting otherwise is a rather sensitive child."

**M**

Nanao moved out into the hallway and then sat down on the floor, motioning for the small taicho to sit down with her. "I guess I'll start with the fact that I know Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku are your parents."

"At this rate, everyone will know, won't they?" Toshiro folded his legs up like she did.

"Well, I don't think the people who so far do know, are going to be willing to say anything. I mean, all things considered... I don't think you would want people knowing." Ise watched the child turn to her in surprise.

"Why wouldn't I want people to know Matsumoto is my mother? She is a great person." His two teal eyes then turned away. "I guess though, her reputation is bad enough as it is all ready."

"That isn't what I meant! I hadn't even thought of Matsumoto's reputation. I was more of thinking about the effect this would have on yours." Ise shook her head. "You never really have cared about your reputation."

"I don't see how it would ruin my reputation though," Toshiro glanced up again.

"I think the fact that your father is considered a traitor to Soul Society would be a big enough issue. Let's add in the fact that you are a miniature version of him and also a child genius. Some people may think that you may turn out just like him." Nanao felt the corner of her mouth twist up suddenly.

"I guess I am like him. Do you think I will end up like him?" Toshiro's question moved towards the more personal side of things.

"You can be just as annoying as him sometimes, but truth of the matter is, you have to much of your mother in you to turn out exactly like your father. There are a few people who have gotten to know you enough to see past the side that you normally do show. I say, consider showing more of the side that you get from your mother."

"I don't understand why you would want to involve yourself. I imagine you are more inclined to side with Matsumoto on this whole mess. Why haven't you told her about this?" The boy sat there, sitting there, his teal eyes suddenly turning to the ceiling.

"Well, that is almost what happened. Matsumoto is very upset that you told her you hate her, but I also think that is not what you meant to say. You said that from hurt feelings. I insisted on following Ukitake, particularly since there was a chance that things would be resolved between you and Rangiku. Things though, instead got a lot more complicated."

"You could say that. I don't know why you don't just go and tell her right now, or even sooner. She'll want to know," Toshiro hung his head, frustration written all over his small features.

"I'll tell you a story. One day, Matsumoto and I were out drinking. It was around this time of year, one might say, so she was depressed about a certain subject, as you have very well come to know. It was before you joined the academy really. We were sitting, and she told me about how she had lost her baby."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with me?" Toshiro raised his head. "It doesn't make me feel better about her and my relationship. I want her to care about me, for me. Not as some replacement. I know it sounds self centered somewhat."

"It isn't self centered to want a parents love and to know it is for real." Nanao continued. "Anyways, getting on with my story, she asked me something in particular about that child, despite the fact that the baby was dead, and even that she thought it was female, rather then male. She asked me to be that child's godmother."

"So... wait..." Toshiro paused for a second, then glanced up. "She asked you, to be my godmother? Doesn't the fact that I am alive and male null and void that?"

"As far as I am concerned, no." Nanao let out a deep sigh. "Understand that I happen to agree right now not to tell her the truth since Gin promised you he would tell her. However, the truth of the matter is, if push comes to shove and I fill that I need to step into the mess for your sake, understand that I will."

Hitsugaya's face twisted, thinking about what she had told him, but then softened. He moved to where he could slide the door open and peeked in. He slid his hand in, reaching for something, almost as if he was trying to not be noticed. He pulled a gift bag out and then dumped out the items. "Gin went and bought something for me to give Rangiku for Christmas. However..." He then explained the problem.

Nanao picked up the stones and opened it up. "I don't see a problem with this. I mean, it is..."

However, it was at that point that Gin stuck his head out. "Chibi taicho what did I tell you about figuring out what the word _birthstone _means on your own? It is rather simple."

Ise felt her mouth twitch, then handed the box to the small taicho. "_If _I happen to talk to you when _he's _not around, I'll tell you what that word means."

At that point, Ukitake stepped out of the room. "Well, we'd best be going as we have work to finish before the Christmas party."

Nanao got up to follow. "I will be making sure Matsumoto will not be leaving you with a great amount of paperwork, if possible, Hitsugaya Taicho."

"So, she told you about her being your godmother?" Gin asked, smirking at the boy.

"All of you know?" Toshiro asked, his voice twisting up in confusion.

"Yes... is something the matter Hitsugaya Taicho?" Nanao asked.

"If you are my godmother, then when it isn't a professional setting, isn't it all right for you to call me by my first name?" The boy asked.

"That is just as it is all right for you to call Gin your father, and Rangiku your mother. Goodness, it is even alright, if you are comfortable, to call me your aunt, if yo us so wish." Nanao stated, completely catching Hitsugaya off guard.

Ichigo stuck his head out of the door. "What is going on?"


	22. Twisting Fate

_Author's note – Goodness knows that it has been over a year since I updated this. The plans on updating this over the Christmas Holiday honestly failed._

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Twisting Fate~**

When Ichigo stuck his head out of the door asking what was going on, he couldn't help but notice the look on the small taicho's face. The boy glanced over at the substitute shinigami, his teal eyes taken a bit off guard for some reason. The orange haired teen watched the two for a few minutes and then spoke up. "What ever it is, you don't need to answer."

Hitsugaya simply stared at him, his expression not changing at first. He then shook his head at the physically older boy. "It is nothing to worry about really. Actually, it is something hard to explain. I'll say it is a family issue, something I need to work through." He then paused for a few seconds. "I found out that Ise Nanao is my godmother."

At that, Ichigo found himself staring at the small taicho, his brown eyes taking in the look on the child's face, which remained particularly emotionless, but had that rare glint of happiness that would manage to show through. "So… how is it possible that she can be your godmother? I mean, this isn't something that Gin knows about, is it?"

"Oh, he knows." Ise's tone turned dark suddenly. "I was very upfront with him that I won't put up with nonsense from either him or Rangiku when it comes to what is best for Hitsugaya Taicho."

"I see." The substitute shinigami then scratched his head. "No… I don't see. How can you be Toshiro's godmother when Rangiku doesn't know that he's her son and I have my honest doubts that Ichimaru would have asked you. This makes little sense at all."

"It is complicated, Kurosaki." Toshiro's mouth suddenly twisted up in mirth. "Technically, Ise Nanao isn't my godmother, but she is because of something Mat… my mother said to her some time ago. Does it really have to make any sense?"

"If you don't mind it not making sense, then I guess it doesn't." Ichigo piped up. He glanced at the outside door, frowning as he did so. "I think what matters most in this situation is what you think and feel about the whole thing. Nothing more, nothing less."

At that, the small taicho paused for a few seconds, glancing at the ground as he did so. He then spoke up, his words coming out slowly. "All I have ever really wanted in life was a place to belong. I wanted to know that people wanted me. I honestly don't feel as if I have that coming from Ichimaru and Matsumoto. However, I think that there are a few other people who have shown they care."

The orange haired teen shook his head. "I can honestly tell you though, Toshiro… it isn't going to feel the same as knowing that they accept and care about you."

Suddenly, the two males found their heads darting up at a loud sound while Ise glanced up rather calmly. Rukia came hurtling around the corner, Jinta on her tail trying to talk to her, only to pause and turn heal when he noticed a very livid look from the child captain of the Gotei Thirteen. The small female shinigami held out the bag to Toshiro. "The items you wished to buy."

"How much to I owe you, Kuchiki-san?" Hitsugaya asked, taking the bag from her and glancing into the bag.

"Nothing. I told you before that I owed you one." The small female shook her head.

"Wait… I thought that purchasing these for me while I came to talk to Ukitake Taicho and Ise-san was enough." Two teal eyes blinked in confusion.

"I said some things I shouldn't about a superior in front of another superior that constitute an embarrassing situation. I _do _owe you this, Hitsugaya Taicho." Her violet eyes watched as his head tilted down.

Ichigo piped up suddenly. "Plus, we consider you a friend Toshiro."

"You are only making things worse." The white haired youth sighed. "_Doesn't he get the fact that if we're simply friends that purchasing them for me would have been enough?_"

Rukia however switched to her stubborn mode, her voice becoming monotone and insistent. "If I say you don't have to pay me back for them, you don't have to pay me back for them. I would feel bad if you did."

"If that's the case, then I'll go with it." The small body though flinched, finding himself in a particular situation he didn't wish to be in. On one side, it was polite to pay the other shinigami back, but on the other, it was also polite to listen to someone's wishes. And of course, the latter for some reason won out, despite the fact it felt weird.

"How about you and Ichimaru come over this afternoon?" The substitute shinigami suddenly piped up, catching everyone else off guard. "Yuzu and Karin are preparing the baked goodies for the party in a couple of days. I'm not allowed in the kitchen, but maybe, just maybe they'll let you in."

Toshiro stared at the orange haired teen for a few minutes, his cheeks suddenly flushing slightly. "Kurosaki… if they don't let males into the kitchen, they won't let males in, end of story."

"Still…" Rukia paused for a few minutes. "If Ichigo insists that you two should come over… despite the fact I distrust that man, then you should come over. It is the holiday season, and it honestly isn't fun to be spending it alone."

"What about your brother?" The small taicho asked quickly.

"He is still working on paperwork and told me that he will join us at the actual Christmas party."

"I see…" Hitsugaya glanced at the ground. "I guess… I guess I will then go. I'll try to bring Ichimaru with me, but I can't control that man. He's not someone you can easily read."

"We'd best be going." Ichigo smirked at the small taicho. "Try to have fun Toshiro."

"It's Hitsugaya Taicho. How many times am I going to have to tell you?" The boy captain muttered, shaking his head.

After they had left, Nanao piped up. "It is going to take until you get the fact that he honestly wishes to treat you as a friend and equal."

"It's a game between the two of us." Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "I should have said it earlier though." Confusion spread across his face though when he saw the rather perturbed look on Nanao's face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Just… think about the fact that Ichimaru has always liked playing mental games with people. It was just a bit unsettling thinking about that." Ise headed back into the room that Ukitake and Ichimaru were in.

"I pick and choose my battles so they are aimed at people who wish to play the games. They aren't fun otherwise." As Toshiro turned from her to go and sit next to the other two males, he missed the look of frustration on her face, as if she noted something but didn't wish to say what was on her mind, lest she bother the child with what she had to say.

Instead, she spoke up. "The substitute shinigami invited Hitsugaya Taicho and Ichimaru over to his house this afternoon." Looking straight at the short, silver haired man, she continued. "I suggest going. The two of you need bonding time."

"I'm not sure if that is such a good idea." Gin titled his head at the female, that obstinate smirk on his face.

At that, Nanao turned towards the small taicho. "Do you think blackmail of me telling Matsumoto before he is ready will work?"

The small taicho's face suddenly twisted up, his mouth forming a round circle from the surprise. Ichimaru though snapped his words out, his smile having faltered. "Yes, yes… that kind of threat will work. I _will _go. Just don't tell Rangiku. I'm going to tell her _soon _so that you can't hold this one over my head."

"I'll find something else. I've found out your weakness Ichimaru Gin."

"And that would be?" The small taicho spoke up, curiosity in his voice, at which Ukitake suddenly laughed.

The taicho of the thirteenth division let out a laugh. "I think she was trying to say that you're his weakness."

"Yeah right." The small taicho shook his head at them just as Ichimaru began to move from his sitting position and snatched the small bag from the taicho.

"I see that you got Christmas presents." Gin's nose buried itself into the bag. He then spoke up again. "I was thinking about going anyways. I wanted to see your _girlfriend._"

At that, Hitsugaya found his own face faltering, realization hitting him that Ichimaru meant someone in particular. His face flushed a deep red and he found himself blurting out from frustration. "She is _not _my girlfriend! I also do _not _have a crush on her!"

Ukitake simply raised an eyebrow and then headed towards the door. "Well, I see that the two of you are busy. We honestly should be going, because the two of you do indeed need some good honest bonding time. Try not to kill each other. I'll be in Soul Society, so I won't be able to stop you."


	23. A Mother's Heart

**Christmas Nightmare  
~A Mother's Heart~**

In the tenth division, Matsumoto found herself in a deep depression as she tried to focus on her work. The depression was similar to that which she felt the week leading up to her small taicho's birthday. No, the birthday of her baby girl. She rubbed her forehead in frustration as she tried separating the two. It used to be, she used to be able to do easily, or so she thought, but right now this was simply hard.

"Taicho... why'd you have to go and make things hard for me?" Rangiku shook her head, trying to hold back the pain that simply wouldn't stop welling in her head.

"Rangiku-san?" a quiet voice came from the door. Rangiku glanced up to see Hinamori Momo standing in the doorway. "Are you all right?"

"Just frustrated with a certain someone." The woman held out her hand. "He would be this high."

"Shiro-chan? What did he do this time?" Hinamori moved over to Rangiku, curiosity getting the better of her.

At this, Rangiku closed her eyes, remembering how her small taicho looked, how hard it was for the small child to look her in the eye. "_Why do you always forget about my birthday?_" Remembering the huge sadness in his voice when she asked this, she closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead.

Momo reached out and shook the older female's shoulder. "Matsumoto! What ever is the matter?"

At that, Rangiku's eyes suddenly snapped open. She then shook her head. "Taicho is also frustrated with me Hinamori. He's miffed that I always forget his birthday every year, but I really did tell him that I thought it wasn't important to him, so I never really pushed the matter."

"He's upset." Hinamori's small hand went flying to her mouth. "I forgot to give him his birthday presant! I forgot to even buy one. Or a Christmas present for him! I was going to go do that when... when Kira asked me to the Christmas party."

"At least you usually remember it every year." Matsumoto's eyes reflected a deep hurt. "I always forget it every year."

"Why don't we go out and get him a present now?" Hinamori smiled at the busty female, a rather determined look on her face. "You like shopping, so it is likely you'll cheer up when we get there."

"I guess." The fukutaicho of the tenth division followed the smaller lieutenant out of the division office and they headed out to the small market. In truth, there wasn't many stores that one could go to in order to buy special gifts for someone, at least not someone who was as particular as her small taicho was. Then again, he never wanted anything for himself.

She glanced into a shop where toys were sold and saw a small snow globe in the window, attracting her attention. Hinamori popped up behind her and noticed the item. "That has an ice dragon in it."

"I think it is an artists impression of what taicho's zampaktuo is supposed to look like." At that, Rangiku blinked a couple of times and then stepped into the store, picking up the globe on the way in and setting it onto the counter. "I would like to purchase this."

The man behind the counter blinked a couple of times. "You are Matsumoto Rangiku, the fukutaicho of the tenth division, aren't you?"

"That is kind of obvious, isn't it?" Rangiku glanced at the snow globe. "How much?"

The man muttered a price and she set the money down. He then spoke up again. "I make things based on the taicho of the other division and they have a way of selling well."

"So, Shiro-chan isn't popular?" Hinamori blinked a couple of times.

"I don't think it is that. I think it is the fact that so few people know much about him still. Adults don't go looking for toys. I am still able to sell items based of the taicho who defected, simply because they are popular among the children." The man glanced at the globe. "The irony is that the taicho of the tenth division is a child himself."

Rangiku simply smiled and they left. Eventually, Hinamori found a couple of gifts herself. She turned to the female shinigami. "Don't you need two gifts?"

"I have time to find a Christmas gift for him. I'm late on the birthday gift, many times over." The two headed back to the tenth division and both noticed that Nanao was standing in the room waiting for them. Rangiku blinked a couple of times. "Nanao! It is good to see you."

"You look like you are still stressed." Ise went and sat down on the couch while the two females joined her.

"I'm trying to think of a way to make things up to taicho." Matsumoto let out a deep sigh.

The fukutaicho of the eighth division pushed up her glasses. "I know you don't like the idea of explaining things to him, but I honestly think that you should tell him."

"Tell Shiro-chan what?" Hinamori piped up.

Rangiku let out a sigh. "It is kind of a private matter between Gin and I."

"Then you shouldn't tell him, if it is a private matter." Momo sighed.

Matsumoto frowned at this. "That is a good reason to not involve him, right? He's too young to be concerned about such a matter."

"That honestly is not what you told me." Ise pushed up on her glasses again. "Rangiku... he wouldn't have asked if it didn't feel to him like it involved him."

"There is that too." Rangiku glanced at the ceiling, then turned to Momo. "I think that I need to talk to Ise a bit."

"It's all right. Shiro-chan is all right despite being stuck in the living world?" Momo suddenly asked.

"He's fine. I just saw him a few minutes ago." Nanao stated as Momo bowed and left them to talk.

Matsumoto turned to her friend. "You went to see taicho in order to fix the problem between us?"

"Something like that. I promise you, I didn't tell him anything about that. However, that said... I've talked to him and I think you really need to talk to both of them." Ise stated. "Otherwise the problem won't be solved.

Rangiku glanced at the wall in front of her. "Taicho is enjoying hanging out with Gin, isn't he?"

Nanao sighed. "I am going to have to say yes. They get along surprisingly well. They are going to the Kurosaki's house for dinner tonight."

At that, Rangiku glanced at the package in her hand. She let out a deep sigh.


	24. Kurosaki House Hold

_Author's note – One the twenty-forth day of Christmas, I gave my true love..._

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Kurosaki House Hold~**

The floor of the room at Urahara's shop was covered in holiday themed paper and ribbons. The small taicho sat in the middle of the mess, glaring at the papers the man had so kindly provided. Rolls of ribbon were also there and he remained frustrated as he looked at the various papers. The door clicked open and Gin slid in, sipping a hot drink.

At that, two bright teal eyes darted up. "I see that you're enjoying yourself."

"And I see that you're wrapping presents. Are you enjoying yourself?" Ichimaru sat down across from the boy, watching him carefully.

At that, the small taicho went back to what he was doing, refusing to answer the man. Eventually, his eye fell upon a particular paper and a particular ribbon and he picked them up. He meticulously took his time cutting the paper out, then folding it around the gift. Finally, he tied it off with the ribbon, making it look nice.

Gin simply watched the boy, amusement written across his face. Whether it was because of the mask the man always wore, or because he always found amusement in such things he couldn't be sure. He watched as the next few gifts were also wrapped up. When Toshiro finnished, Ichimaru let out a sigh of relief as the clean up began.

"We can be going over to the Kurosaki family now?" The man stated as the small taicho scooped the gifts he was going to be giving.

At that, two teal eyes looked at him in surprise. "Yes. We can get going I guess."

They were scooped into the small bad and the small taicho headed to the door, only to hear a voice from behind him. "One of those wouldn't happen to be for your girlfriend would it?"

At that, Hitsugaya turned around on him and glared at the man, staying that way for a few minutes. When he finally spoke up, his voice was filled with irritation. "She is _not _my girlfriend."

"Hai, hai. Whatever you say." Ichimaru stated, falling into step behind the small male. Eventually they got to the Kurosaki household and Gin paused forward hitting the door with a loud knock, causing his son to jump.

After a few seconds, the door opened and the substitute shinigami looked out smiling at them. "Welcome."

At that, the two stepped into the house, while Toshiro carried the small bag in his arms. Gin spoke up with a laugh. "Sorry we couldn't bring something as quests."

Ichigo winced suddenly, not exactly liking Gin's behavior. "Yuzu likes to prepare the whole meal, so it really doesn't matter."

At that, they headed into the living room area where a small female was sitting on the couch watching the television. Ichigo walked over to the couch and leaned down. "Karin... we have guests over for dinner."

At that, the dark haired twin jumped and looked over the couch. 'So you invited some of your friends over." However, she paused upon seeing Hitsugaya standing there next to someone she had never seen before. She raised her hand up. "Yo. Toshiro. It's good to see you again."

This caused Ichigo to blink a couple of times, turning to stare at the small shinigami. "The two of you have met already?"

"Toshiro helped us out with a soccer game when some middle school students thought they could bully us." The small female stated. "Do you want to play a video game?"

At that, the small taicho's jaw dropped, confusion spreading on his face. Ichigo though spoke up, scratching his head. "How come she gets to call you by your first name and you always complain about me using it."

At that, the small taicho turned and glared at him. "Your sister isn't involved in Soul Society affairs, Kurosaki."

"So... do you want to play a game?" Karin stated again. However, she watched as his eyes drifted over to the small tree that was already decorated. "We haven't decorated for Ichi-nii's Christmas party yet, but we did get the Christmas tree up."

The man who was standing with them suddenly placed a palm in the middle of the child's back and pushed him towards the couch. "Go play a video game, Shiro-chan. I doubt you've ever given yourself to try one."

"You know I _don't _like people calling me that?" Toshiro stated as he sat down next to Karin, his legs folding up as he glared daggers at the telivision. In his mind, he had better things to do.

The tomboy female spoke up as she went to set up the system. "So, you've never played a video game before?"

"I _don't _have time for such things." Hitsugaya grumbled.

"Usually you say you don't have time for childish pursuits," Ichimaru piped up, leaning over from behind.

At that, Karin blinked a couple of times. "Toshiro... is he your father?"

There was a moment of silence as Ichigo let out a cough rather suddenly. He was the first to speak up. "Why would you think that Karin?"

"Because..." At this, the small female paused. "Toshiro looks like he could be the son of this guy and that fukutaicho I was introduced to earlier, the one that is under him."

Hitsugaya's eyes went wide and he simply stared at her, his shock complete. Gin shook his head, his eyes opening up. "So, you've met Matsumoto then?"

"Yeah. She seemed like a ditz, but she was nice enough to me. " The female commented. "However, it was for only a little bit."

Ichigo suddenly grabbed the arm of the tall man and began to drag him off to the kitchen. "Why don't you and I check to see if Yuzu and Rukia need help in the kitchen."

Karin watched as Ichimaru was dragged away, a frown on his face like he was a little child, while the two preteens watched. At that, she turned to her friend. "Something's bothering you."

If she expected a response, one didn't come, at least not right away. The small taicho simply stared at the television, his mouth twisting up in a scowl. Finally he spoke up. "There was a captain in soul society who decided he wanted to betray everyone else. He took the other two captains with him because it appeared that he had manipulated ones quest for justice, while the other he likely manipulated because he got his hands in him as a young child."

"That's what that whole business Ichi-nii was involved in was about?" Karin let out a deep sigh, getting a sharp one time nod from the small taicho.

"You basically go to soul society when you die. I always had a dream since I was young, about a plain of ice. I figured that was how I died. I didn't think any blood relation cared about me and yet someone was willing to take me in and raise me, my granny. I thought myself lucky to be accepted by her and the other child being raised in the household. I didn't think to ever look for my parents, since it is hard to find family in soul society. Plus, they should go looking for their kid, right?"

At that, the small female found a puzzled look on her face. "Are you saying that you aren't their child?"

At that, the small taicho shook his head no. "I just found out that Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin are my biological parents. Gin is the child genius I was talking about earlier. What he told me... and I honestly don't know whether to believe him beyond the fact that granny has confirmed that he is my father... is that he took me from my mother when I was born, told her I was dead and then put me in the safe keeping of my grandmother so that other man couldn't get me."

"That explains why you are a captain at such a young age." Karin watched though, as Toshiro's face twisted up in frustration. She suddenly smiled at him weakly. "Would you have rather I pointed out the fact that I noticed that your upset that Matsumoto didn't realize that you were her child when the two of us met and how weird it was?"

At that, the small taicho buried his head in his hands. He then raised up his head, frustration on his face. "Rangiku still doesn't know because she and Gin aren't talking to each other. Actually, she's been refusing to talk to him so he can tell her the truth. She's that mad at him for leaving with that... other person without explaining anything. I can't really blame her. But..."

There was a slight pause, and Karin patiently waited for a completion. "Do you understand that people in soul society age differently then they do in the world of the living?"

"That explains why you were so reluctant to tell me your age? As far as I'm concerned, you're pysically the same age as me." Karin smiled. "What would you have told me if I had known?"

"I would have told you that I was over fifty years old at least." The small taicho scratched his head rather uncomfortable.

There was a sudden laugh from the female preteen, which caused him to balk and stare at her, utter horror on his face. The small female used her hand to brush off in the air his concerns. "I was just thinking, that explains your white hair doesn't it?"

"That isn't funny." Toshiro glared at her.

Karin laughed again. "You really can't take a joke, can you? I mean, it is obvious that isn't why your hair is white because if she's your mom then she's got to be older then you and she's got some pretty colored hair."

"Yeah, well now that I know I was born in soul society, I know that I have to be older then a hundred. " He then paused. "That wasn't the point me explaining that to you, though you would have figured out roughly how old I was when I told you what was bothering me."

"Sorry. I'll try not to add to your mental worries. I'll not tease you right now. I just thought you could use a laugh." Karin chuckled again.

"I met my mother over forty years ago. She's actually the one who convinced me to join the academy, because... of some things going on. She's kept an eye on me since then and while we didn't talk much, she did know when my birthday was. She always got depressed around that time and forgot about my birthday."

At that, the small female piped up. "I am kind of surprised that she didn't guess that you were her child. I mean, you look a _lot_ like your father. You also have that particular birthday. How could she not know?"

At that, the corner of Toshiro's mouth twitched. "Ichimaru told her that the baby she lost was a _girl_." At that, Karin's jaw dropped, and she paused for a few minutes. She then fell onto the floor laughing. He spluttered out the words. "It isn't funny!"

"I'm sorry." The small female pulled herself back up on the couch. "I just pictured you in girls clothing when you said that."

At that, his eyes grew wide and his cheeks flushed a slight red color. "_Please_. Don't tell me _anything _like that again." He then took a deep breath. "Matsumoto... when I asked her why she ignored my birthdays, she wasn't able to tell me. I rather went off on her, telling her that I hate her. I didn't mean it, but the fact that she can't tell me the truth hurts."

"I can see why that would hurt." Karin smiled. "At least you have a chance to spend time with your mother."

"Sorry. I forgot your mom isn't around." The small taicho leaned forward, frustrated that everything wasn't working out the way he wanted to. However, his and Karin's heads darted up when they saw Ichigo and Gin come back into the room.

"Yuzu said that I would burn the kitchen down if I helped." Ichigo smiled.

Karin narrowed her eyes at her brother. "I know that you are hiding something, Ichi-nii."


	25. Awkward Moments

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Awkward Moments~**

That afternoon when Ichigo stepped onto the path up to his house with Rukia, he suddenly felt the small shinigami grab his sleeve. "I know I said I would be fine with Hitsugaya Toshiro coming over here with that man, I have to be frank with you that I am highly uncomfortable around Ichimaru. I don't trust him around the small taicho despite the fact that both of you have voiced that it is all right."

"It isn't just me, Rukia... but my father too." Ichigo paused for a few seconds, then turned towards her. "Truth of the matter is, I honestly don't trust Gin any more then you do. I feel I can trust him not to harm Toshiro, but beyond that... I don't think his mind works right. I _have_ to do this for Toshiro though. Everything has been shaken up for him recently."

"I think the easiest solution would be for Ichimaru to go back into jail and for Toshiro to forget that he and that man interacted." The small female sighed, slipping into the house and dropping her bags by the front door, before heading up the stairs. Ichigo quickly followed her, glancing around to make sure that Karin and Yuzu weren't around, then slipped into the room.

Rukia plopped down onto the bed, crossing her legs as she did so. Ichigo let out a sigh and sat down in his computer chair. "That's like me forgetting that my father's a shinigami, isn't it?"

"I'm not privy to the details about what is going on." The small shinigami frowned at her friend.

At that, Ichigo paused for a few seconds. "The one thing I know for sure, I don't think Gin would ever intentionally harm Toshiro. I got that from the way they acted around each other."

"He could be doing this because he wants something out of Hitsugaya Taicho." Rukia closed her eyes. "I know that you say otherwise. But I've never felt comfortable around that man. How can Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"It's complicated." Ichigo paused for a few minutes, thinking things through. "It maybe due to the fact that while Gin's got a habit of making people uncomfortable around him, he never did that to Toshiro in the past. So, it would make sense that Toshiro wouldn't have the bad memories that everyone else has." The look on Rukia's face said she wasn't at all convinced.

Later on, Ichigo found himself inviting Ichimaru and Toshiro into the house. The atmosphere between the three males felt tense to the substitute shinigami. That said, he found himself being as friendly as possible, somewhat glad that Rukia was in the kitchen helping Yuzu. He wasn't sure how to introduce the two males to his siblings either.

To his complete surprise, Karin and Toshiro already knew each other and he watched as Toshiro in some ways relaxed around his sister, but also tensed up. And then came the fact that Karin popped a question out of her mouth that rather shocked her brother. It took him a bit of time to figure out that the two were related, but she figured it soon after she met the second person. The whole thing felt eerie to him.

Ichigo watched as the small taicho's eyes suddenly went wide, his entire body freezing. Gin had been smirking the whole time, only to suddenly have his face falter, his eyes opening slightly. Finally, Ichigo spoke up. The conversation progressed and Ichigo watched as Toshiro began to fidget. Glancing over at the silver haired man, Ichigo feared that he might say the wrong thing.

"Why don't you and I check to see if Yuzu and Rukia need help in the kitchen." And with that, they headed into the kitchen, where the two females glanced up in surprise.

"He wanted to know if we could help." Gin stated, a grin on his face, acting as if nothing serious was going on.

"Ichi-nii..." Yuzu simply looked at her brother. "Can your friend take you out of the kitchen so you don't set anything on fire?"

At that, Ichigo suddenly paled and continued to drag Gin back to his father's clinic. "I guess we'll go visit dad then."

At that, he slipped in through the clinic door, while Ichimaru frowned. "Why did you think of volunteering when you knew you would get that kind of reaction?"

"Shut up." Ichigo grumbled.

His father peeked around the corner. "I am just shutting everything up. And no Ichigo. You can't help." The man then paused, a smile spreading on his face. "Hello Ichimaru. How is Toshiro doing? He isn't still dealing with that rash is he?"

"He still itches once the medicine wears off, but we made sure to put some on before he came over." Gin stated, watching as the orange haired teen was about to have a fit.

Isshin continued to smile and he waved them into the office to sit while he finished up. "So, has Toshiro met Karin and Yuzu yet? They are around the same age physically and he could use making some friends around his age."

Ichimaru sat down, while Ichigo sulked in the corner. The younger Kurosaki male spoke up suddenly. "Actually, Karin and Toshiro have already met and seem to be very good friends."

At that, Isshin paused, watching as Gin's face contorted, becoming more serious about the situation. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat that I said this to Toshiro, but I figured you aught to know Isshin that Shiro-chan doesn't just think of Karin as a friend."

At that, the dark haired Kurosaki male blinked a couple of times. "So... you're telling me that Toshiro has a crush on Karin-chan?"

At that, the teenager flustered up suddenly. "Hold on a second!" He waved his hands back and forth trying to negate what was just said. "You just saw how they interacted in there. That isn't much to go by, is it."

"Don't pay attention to my son. He is an idiot." Isshin stated aloud. "You saw something in Toshiro's dream then?"

"What I saw and what he says tells me he's in complete denial about his feelings. He's just hitting puberty though, so I guess it is understandable." Gin stated, glancing over at Ichigo, who simply looked at the two shell shocked. "I don't think your son is used to parents talking about their kids around him. He's almost old enough to get married and have a family of his own."

"So, why did the two of you come in here." The eldest of the males continued on as if nothing had happened, as if the conversation was normal. And truth be said, it was likely very normal.

"Karin saw Gin and asked if she was Toshiro's father." Ichigo stated.

"So?" Isshin shook his head at his son. "Look... I don't know how well you remember that incident with the parakeet son, but Karin had the ability to see his memories. With her being able to see ghosts comes a high level of empathy. I'm not surprised that she could tell something like that. Anyways. I'll see the rest of you at dinner. I need to finish things in here."

At that, it was Gin's turn to drag Ichigo away and they headed back to the room and Karin glared at him, while Toshiro simply looked at them, his face saying that he was emotionally drained. Ichigo commented about the fact that Yuzu didn't want him burning down the kitchen to avoid saying that they went and spoke with their father, which might lead to Karin finding out the man was a shinigami.

However, Karin spoke up. "I know that you are hiding something, Ichi-nii."

"We went and visited your father in the clinic." Ichimaru stated, telling the truth as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Toshiro from behind him, leaning over the back of the couch to do so.

At that, Rukia walked into the room. "I don't know if he's keeping you in the dark about the whole matter regarding Hitsugaya and Ichimaru, however that might be it."

At that, Toshiro glanced up. "You're still stuck on what Hanakari kid said, aren't you? He is such a pain in the ass."

"I know what you mean about that." Karin stated, shaking her head. "Jinta has a crush on Yuzu really bad."

"Well, Ichimaru's history back in Soul Society isn't... well, it doesn't lean towards me trusting him." Rukia sighed.

At that, the small taicho let out a sigh. "You promise not to repeat what I am going to say to other people in Soul Society?"

"You don't have to tell her if you don't want to, Shiro-chan," Gin stated, having pulled away once Rukia had come into the room, catching onto the fact that the small female was still far from being comfortable with the unsaid and unknown situation between him and Toshiro.

"She'll keep looking at both of us strangely unless I tell her." Toshiro glanced away. Then, without waiting to hear her promise, he spoke up. "He's my otousan."


	26. Even More Awkward

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Even More Awkward ~**

The whole situation between Ichimaru Gin and Toshiro bothered Rukia greatly. When she walked out of the kitchen, she saw the two together. Ichimaru was leaned over the couch, hugging the small taicho. Rukia became bothered due to the fact that she knew that Hitsugaya Taicho was not someone who liked getting close to people and she also knew that Gin wasn't someone that you could get close to.

When the offer came from the small taicho, with the comment to keep things private between the two of them, Rukia found herself wanting to agree, but then found herself listening to the conversation between Ichimaru and Hitsugaya, which made her even more nervous then before. She had never liked the man. Toshiro's words shocked her though. "He's my otousan."

At that, Rukia simply stared at the small taicho, completely taken aback, not wanting to believe what she just heard coming from the child's own mouth. The first thing that came to her mind was the fact that there could be no possible way that this could be true. Her mouth finally opened up. "What did you say?"

At that, Toshiro took a deep breath. "I said that Ichimaru Gin is my father."

Rukia opened her mouth to say something, only to have Yuzu come into the room at that very moment and glance around. "Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes."

At that, Karin got up and grabbed the arm of her twin and dragged her back into the kitchen, the small girl taken by surprise. "We got it. They are kind of having a private conversation."

"How can Ichimaru Gin be your father?" The small female shinigami shook her head in disbelief. "Hitsugaya Taicho, are you _sure_ he isn't lying to you? He's... he isn't know for exactly being truthful."

At that, the small taicho spoke up, his emotions not changing, though it was obvious that he was tired of the whole situation. "Ukitake went and spoke with my grandmother and confirmed the fact that Ichimaru is telling me the truth."

Rukia simply stared at the two. She then spoke the next thing that came to her mind. "What about Matsumoto?"

"She's my mother... but she doesn't know." Toshiro stated, his tone remaining calm about the whole situation.

"How can she not know?" The small female found herself becoming more and more upset.

"As you said, I am not known for telling the truth." Gin spoke up rather suddenly, causing Rukia to give him a dirty look.

"Please. Don't tell anyone about this, Kuchiki-san." The small taicho's face suddenly twisted up into a look of worry.

"But what about Matsumoto?" Rukia shook her head. "Doesn't she deserve to know?"

"Please. Don't tell even her. I want Ichimaru to have a chance to talk to her about this. It is very important to me that he be the one to tell her." Two teal eyes suddenly pleaded with her, something that she hadn't recollected ever seeing from the young taicho. It almost seemed like he was vulnerable, but the look went away when he glanced away.

At that, Ichigo tugged Rukia to the side. "Can we talk for a bit." He folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think now?"

"What I don't understand is how Hitsugaya Taicho can get so close to that man, allow Ichimaru to touch him like that. I know now that there wasn't any forbidden relationship going on, but still. The way Hitsugaya lets him touch him seems way too trusting." The small female glanced at the ground.

"Toshiro was rather sick for awhile and it's been Gin whose been taking care of him. From what I can tell, Toshiro and Matsumoto aren't getting along well right now either and their relationships become a tad strained." Then came the next words. "Do you think that this is something that Toshiro should really just forget about?"

At that, Rukia paused for a few seconds. "This is kind of like how nii-sama and my sister didn't want me to know the truth about abandoning me. But... Ichigo, that was just one thing, one time. She kept looking for me for a long time."

"I don't have the answers because I don't believe I have all the details." Ichigo though glanced into the other room. "The thing is, I think the situation isn't that much different."

However, the small female simply walked back into the room and sat down next to the small taicho, catching him off guard. "Are you sure that you are happy about this situation, Hitsugaya Taicho?"

At that, the small boy blinked a couple of times. "The only reason Ichimaru told me, was because I had a wish to know who my real parents were. I'd rather not go into the details."

"Now that you know, do you regret knowing?" Rukia asked, watching him carefully.

At that, Toshiro glanced at the ground. "In some ways, it is better then thinking that your parents abandoned you because you were a freak, in other ways it isn't. I can't say yet that I regret finding out, because it is to soon."

At that, the Kuchiki female found herself staring in front of her, digesting the words that the small taicho told her. After a bit, she glanced up at the silver haired man, then decided not to speak her mind on the matter. The look she gave the man said that she was not happy with the idea that things were turning out the way that they were.

The tension simply kept growing, until Yuzu called them to eat dinner. She looked at the four in the living room, confusion written all over her face. However, Toshiro stood up. "Has someone gone and gotten your father yet?"

"I'll go do it." Rukia stated, wanting to get away from the silver haired man, her eyes glancing over at the small taicho, her worry rather obvious.

"Is something wrong, Rukia-nee?" The lighter haired win asked, only to have the dark haired shinigami shake her head.

Rukia moved into the clinic and walked over to Isshin's office, her body completely tense. The man glanced up. "I take it dinner is ready?"

"Yes sir." The Kuchiki noble took a deep breath. "Ichigo says that you trust Ichimaru around Hitsugaya Taicho."

At that, Isshin paused as he was standing up, giving her a funny look as he stared at her. Then, he completely stood up. "I've never thought of him as a bad person. Then again, I've known Gin since he was really young. He and Toshiro are actually a lot alike."

"To me, they are only alike in looks." Rukia frowned at the man. "Ichimaru Gin likes playing games with people and Hitsugaya Taicho is not one for childishness. Also, Ichimaru Gin makes you feel like snakes were choking you. I've never had a bad feeling from Hitsugaya Taicho."

"You don't know either one as well as I do. I know very well that feeling Gin puts up around people. I've also see him deal with both Rangiku and Toshiro in the past. He's never used that kind of aura around them. He felt no need to use it on me. And as for Toshiro, he can have his own bite when he loses his temper. Then again, you've yet to see that child lose his temper and throw a tantrum. I have. I've also seen the look in his eyes, that want to have some sort of childhood left over."

The small female remained silent. Upon the question of what else was bothering her, she spoke up. "What I don't understand is, how come you ended up with a different perspective on that man?"

"I didn't just watch Toshiro grow up, Rukia. I also watched as Gin grew up. Ichimaru didn't have someone to take him under their wings like Shiro-chan did. Instead... he set his mind on stopping Aizen from the time he was really young. Foolish, considering where it got him. Family though, is important to him, and I always treated him, Rangiku and Toshiro like family. I guess that made him feel comfortable being part of his real self. It will be some time before that will be able to show to other people."

The Kuchiki female let out a deep sigh and moved into the kitchen area and sat down at the table. She raised an eyebrow, watching as the small taicho was stuck between the twins. The situation was honestly tense, until Yuzu piped up something. "So, is Toshiro your boyfriend Karin?"

At that, she watched as the small taicho's teal eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed red. Karin gave a rather annoyed no. To Rukia's surprise, Gin's mouth twisted into a smirk, while his eyes glint with mirth at Toshiro's reaction. It was honestly the first time she had seen any form of warmth from the person, causing her to suddenly relax, while the non-preteens stifled their laughter.

Afterward, Toshiro helped the girls clear away the table and volunteered to help wash, while Ichimaru went to the couch and Isshin headed up to bed. Ichigo commented about going upstairs to work on his homework. Things seemed to be going well. A knock came on the front door and Rukia said that she would go and answer it. She found though, her eyes going wide. "Matsumoto-san?"

_Note: Sorry for those that read the wrong chapter. I am now fixing it!_


	27. Twisting Heart

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Twisting Heart ~**

About five minutes after dinner had finished, Ichimaru and Isshin found themselves glancing at the door suddenly. As Rukia glanced up at them, they glanced away. Isshin suddenly stretched and let out a fake yawn. Taking a good look at his son, giving him a very decisive glance, he spoke up rather quickly. "I am rather tired from the duties in the clinic today, so I'll be heading up to bed."

Ichigo, confusion written on his face stared at his father. However, he had gotten the hint and spoke up himself. "I think I am going to go work on my homework."

At that, both of the males headed up the stairs. Gin glanced over at the kitchen, where he could see that Toshiro was absorbed fully in the task of helping the girls with the dishes, so he had yet to notice. He simply went and sat on the couch, his entire body tensing up, wondering why it had to be the wrong time for this to be happening.

Rukia heard the knock on the door and hurried over to answer it, having become used to being part of the Kurosaki family. Ichimaru could hear her voice all the way from the couch. "Matsumoto-san?"

"I'm sorry for showing up like this, but I heard from Ise-san that taicho was here. I rather need to talk to him." This caused Ichimaru to flinch, his eyes opening in frustration. Glancing over at where Toshiro was, he could see that the small taicho stopping to pop his head up. However, his head darted back down despite the fact he had tensed up himself. He may not have heard Matsumoto, but he could now feel her reiatsu.

Rangiku stepped into the room, her eyes suddenly darting over to where Ichimaru was. She let out a deep sigh and walked over, sitting down on the couch. Glancing into the kitchen, she could slightly see Toshiro at the sink with the two girls. As she bent over, Ichimaru spoke up. "I really need to talk to you about something."

The female paused for a second, then turned to him. Her face lacked the anger that she had when she has seen him earlier, but it was replaced with a rather pained look. Her eyes were filled with a high level of disappointment. "I'm not ready to talk to you Gin, so please don't even try. Taicho is actually enjoying himself around children his age, so I don't want to lose it with you right now, not in front of them."

At that, Gin opened his mouth, but then closed it. He watched as Toshiro glanced up, the child also having a pained look in his eyes, but for a different reason. "Matsumoto?"

"Hello." Rangiku almost called her small captain by his title, but paused, thinking about the fact that while Karin knew about the rank, the other sister of Ichigo did not. "I need to talk to you about something Hitsugaya."

"Well, maybe I don't want to talk to you. Ever think that I am still mad at you?" Toshiro stated, taking a plate from Karin and drying it so that Yuzu could put it away.

"Shiro-chan..." Gin's voice indicated that he didn't approve of the boy's behavior.

Letting out a sigh, Hitsugaya handed another dish to Yuzu. "Can I finish helping Karin and Yuzu-chan with the dishes?"

At that, Matsumoto blinked a couple of times, but a content smile spread on her face. Leaning on the couch arm, she spoke up. "I don't mind."

After a few minutes, the threesome finished and Rukia ushered the two girls upstairs so that the three could have a more private conversation. Toshiro wiped off his hands and walked over to the couch. "What do you want Matsumoto?"

"Shiro-chan... you could speak to her nicer." Ichimaru commented, his eyes open and indicating that he didn't' like the fact that the situation between the three of them in truth was not a good one.

At that, Rangiku let out a deep sigh. "I'm used to him talking to me like this though. He's mad at me, so his curt responses are justified. He is my taicho, is he not?"

"I'm your taicho. The response is respected." Toshiro looked at her, the hurt look on his face worsening. "Matsumoto, you really _don't _get it, do you?"

"I understand that you were unhappy that I forgot your birthday." Rangiku tried smiling at the small taicho, only to have him glare at her, his eyes showing a great deal of hurt. At that, she reached into the bag she had with her and pulled out a package wrapped in blue paper. She held the package out to him. "I promise, I'll try not to forget from now on."

"I don't want it." Hitsugaya snapped out, his mood suddenly darkening.

"Chibi-taicho, be nice." Ichimaru stated, only to receive a sudden glare from Rangiku.

However, Toshiro's next words caused her to look at the boy taicho in shock. "You don't get it Matsumoto. I _don't _want birthday gifts from you."

"Taicho. If you could explain why you are so upset..." The woman found herself quickly interrupted.

"You would understand if you were polite enough to listen to what Ichimaru has to say to you. You're letting your pride get in the way." Toshiro snapped out, his cheeks beginning too puff out.

"You do realize that you are doing the same thing to me?" Rangiku sighed, leaning suddenly on the side.

"I am _not_! What I have to say to you! What I am upset about! It is tied into what Gin has to say! I can't tell you, until you listed to him!" At that, the white haired child suddenly turned and headed for the front door. It opened up and there was a loud slam.

Ichimaru let out a deep sigh. "There is something important that I need to talk to you about Ran-chan."

"I told you, I don't want to talk to you right now about that." Matsumoto snapped out.

Gin opened his eyes, his face indicating the fact that he wasn't happy with her. "You said that you weren't wanting to talk while Toshiro was around with the girls, because you don't want to embarrass him."

"I _said_ I would lose my temper if you kept this up and I didn't want to lose it in front of them." Rangiku stated.

"I'm fine with you not talking to me, Matsumoto." Ichimaru's words had a strange feel to them. "However, your small taicho is _not_. As long as I am not able to speak to you about this, he's going to throw a fit every time you talk to him. This is important to him."

The busty female turned to glare at him, her eyes filled with fury. "I am going to go speak with taicho. I am worried about him."

"The kid can take care of himself. He's just mad at you." Ichimaru muttered. However, Rangiku got up and walked out of the house after her small taicho. The man found himself frustrated, knowing he shouldn't at that point go after either of them. "That woman... sometimes... sometimes." However, he stopped, closing his eyes.

**M**

As the door slammed behind the small taicho, he could feel the chill of the night air and suddenly found himself wishing that he had grabbed a jacket. He crossed his arms, shivering as he did so. "I hate her. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her."

"_You don't hate her._" Hyorinmaru spoke up. "_Truth of the matter is, you love your mother very much, which is why you hate the fact that none of this is going the way that you want it too._"

At that, the small taicho began to pace, not knowing what to do about the situation. "_Gin promised me he would tell her. He promised. I don't want to be the one to tell her. It feels wrong. If she were to find out from me... it wouldn't be right._" Still shivering, he stuck his hands into his pocket, suddenly pausing as his fingers felt a particular object.

Pulling it out, he remembered that he had stuck the Christmas present that Gin had bought for him to give to Rangiku. The plan had been to stick it under the Christmas tree with the other packages he had brought, however, he had placed it into his pants pocket and forgotten about it At that, he leaned up against the wall, staring at the package, his eyes filled with grief.

"It's not fair." His teal eyes though, darted up as he heard the door open up.

"Taicho?" Matsumoto stepped out. "I am really sorry for upsetting you like that. I don't understand though, why talking to Ichimaru is important to you. Is that what you are upset about?"

At that, the small taicho found the words spilling from his mouth as he tried telling her the one thing that he didn't wish to tell her. "I am _not _upset with you because you refuse to speak to Gin. I am _not _upset with you _because_ you forgot my birthday Matsumoto."

"If it isn't those things, then what is it?" Rangiku sighed, hugging herself tightly, watching as her small taicho shivered. She was tempted to offer her small jacket, but knew he wouldn't be happy about that.

"I'm _not _a replacement Matsumoto. End of story!" The small taicho waved his hand to the side, cutting the air with frustration.

"Gin... Gin promised that he would tell you." The female suddenly found herself paling.

Toshiro looked at her, his eyes beginning to well up. "He didn't' tell me, Rangiku. I guessed, all right."

At that, Rangiku let out a deep breath of air, trying to think of how to word what she was trying to say. "Taicho... I never thought of you as a replacement. I..."

"Shut up!" Toshiro swung his hand again, his frustration growing. "If you had _just _talked to Ichimaru, you would understand what the problem was. That _stupid_ idiot. I hate the both of you! You know why? Because there are so _many_ things that _both_ of you could have done better, but your both way too stubborn to notice what is important."

"Taicho..." Matsumoto paused, knowing he wasn't finished.

"I'm sick of this. I tried waiting and waiting for the two of you to solve your problems, but neither one of you takes the needed steps." At that, Rangiku found Toshiro shoving something towards her. "I don't care if the _stupid_ gift has some _stupid_ perverted meaning to it. I'm washing my hands of both of you. Maybe you'll be mad for no good reason at me too then, huh?"

At that, Rangiku let out a sigh, her nail sliding the paper open and pulling out the jewelry box and clicking it open. Her eyes took in the small charm at the end of the necklace, a very small person, a male to be exact. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes going wide with horror and realization hitting her of what was going on. "Topaz... taicho..."

"He said that you would _get_ the meaning of that stupid necklace. I only see it as having some perverted meaning, because that is a restroom sign symbol and topaz means _fidelity_ and _love_. I _know _Ichimaru likes his jokes, but this one went to far, right? So you're mad at me too now and you won't be talking to me either, right? For something so small and so stupid?"

"Taicho... you don't know what a birthstone is?" Matsumoto stated, her eyes suddenly pained, the realization hitting her harder then she wanted.

"He told me to guess, like it was some puzzle for me to solve! I wanted to know what that was, but I definitely do not want to know now. I told you, I don't want anything to do with you?" Two teal eyes looked up at her, his eyes dampening. "I hate you. I hate the both of you." At that, the small taicho moved away from her, getting out of her site fast, hiding his reiatsu from her.


	28. Panic

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Panic ~**

As Toshiro sped off on her, Matsumoto found herself taking a very deep breath. If there was one thing that Ichimaru and her small taicho had in common, it was the fact that when they didn't want to be found, no one could find them. Bitterly, she opened the door to the Kurosaki household and approached the one person she hadn't wanted to speak to.

"_Gin..._" Rangiku's tone was dark and she watched as the man suddenly glanced up, over the edge of the couch. It was obvious that he wasn't pleased with her either.

"Are you going to listen to me now?" However, he suddenly turned his body towards her, concern on his face. "Chibi taicho isn't with you? Where's the kid Rangiku?"

At that, the woman glowered at him, walking over to where he was sitting. "Taicho took off on my, Gin. He couldn't stop yelling at me about how he hates the both of us and that he's had enough of this whole mess."

"Well, I honestly don't blame him. You've been stubborn about talking to me, despite the fact that I have something important to tell you. It was something that was important to him too Ran-chan. Do you really hate you that much?" Ichimaru stated, he then turned his head away from her. "I don't care if you hate me. At least have some consideration for his feelings in this matter."

At that, he stood up, still speaking to her, refusing to look the woman in the face. "Are you going to listen to me now? If not, I would like to go and..." He paused, suddenly seeing the object that Rangiku held in her hand. "_How_ did you get _that_? He was supposed to give it to you for Christmas, after I talked to you and explained things."

"I am going to ask you a serious question, Gin. I want to know _exactly _what lies you told taicho. He is the _last_ person I ever want to see hurt. If you lied to him, you know this is something you can't take back, right." Rangiku stated, her lip trembling.

"I think you know that I didn't lie to him. Ran-chan." Ichimaru's mood turned dark. "But if you don't believe me, just ask my mother, someone you've heard Chibi Taicho refer to as his grandmother."

At that, Matsumoto found herself biting down on her lip and she found her hand reaching out and slapping the man's cheek hard. "How could you Gin? Do you know how much I wanted to always hold that child in my arms? Of all the cruel things you could do, why this?"

"Simple. Would you rather Aizen have gotten his hands on that child? You know very well how manipulative that man was. If he could have gotten his hands on a child genius, even before he entered academy, what do you think would have happened to our son? What _kind_ of person do you think he would have ended up being?"

Rangiku found herself chocking back her tears. "It's still cruel. Plus, you had to tell him before you told me. Why would you do such a thing? All it's done is put a strain on our relationship Gin!"

"There is a strain on the two of your relationship because you refused to listen to me. I could have told you a long time ago, what I already told him Matsumoto. Plus, I had a reason for telling him first." Ichimaru took a deep breath. "But that isn't something we should be talking about right now, is it? I'm not blind to the fact that Shiro-chan's run off and it might take some time to find him."

The female shook her head at him. "I'm going to go look for baby right now. Don't think that this is over yet. He's likely hiding someplace up high. He's always liked high spots."

At that, Gin grabbed her hand, which caused Rangiku to try and pull away. "There is something you need to know, if you manage to find him. His exact words about why he is upset with you, is that he feels that he is a replacement for himself. _That_ is why he is hurting." At that, he let her pull away and exit through the front door.

Instead of heading straight out to look for the small taicho, Ichimaru headed up the stairs and knocked on the door of Ichigo's room. The substitute shinigami opened up the door, his mouth twisted up with curiosity. "Is something the matter?"

"Rangiku showed up." Ichimaru stated firmly. "Let's just say, things didn't go as well as I would have liked them to have gone. Toshiro took off on us and I would like help finding him."

"I'll get Rukia then." Ichigo stated, heading over to knock on the girl's room.

Isshin poked his head out of his room. "I was wondering how that would go. If you don't mind, I'll stick around here just in case he comes back here. Plus, I've got my girls to watch out for."

"I completely understand." Gin gave the other person a weak smile.

Rukia stepped out of the room. "If Hitsugaya Taicho is hiding his reiatsu from us, he's going to be impossible to find. You and Rangiku have any idea where he might go if he's upset?"

"Rangiku commented on the fact that he likes places up high." Ichimaru stated, his smile rather weak.

As Rukia headed off, Ichigo turned to look at Gin, who was remaining outside his sister's door. "Aren't you going to look for Toshiro?"

"If you and your father don't mind, I would like to ask your sister Karin something." The man stated, catching the substitute shinigami off guard.

"Well, won't Toshiro be some place high? It should be easy for us to find. But whatever." At that, the orange haired teen headed out himself.

"You don't think that Toshiro will be someplace high this time, do you?" Isshin asked, watching the other man.

"He's my son. He's intelligent enough to know what the first place Rangiku will go looking for him is and he doesn't want anything to do with either of us. Your daughter has spent time with him before, so she may actually know where he may have headed."

"Feel free to ask." Isshin stated. "I trust you with them."

At that, Ichimaru knocked on the door and found it opened by Karin, who had a rather worried look on her face. "Toshiro is doing something stupid, isn't he?"

"I wouldn't call what he is doing stupid. Not unless something bad happens to him." The man stated. "You've spent time with him while he's been here in the world of the living, right? Is there any spot that stands out to you as a place he would go?"

"Well, there is that bend in the road. He likes going there. But he wouldn't go there at this time of night because he goes there to watch the sunset." Karin frowned. "You might try the soccer field or the park."

"Arrigotto Karin-chan." The man smiled at her, and then whispered something into her ear. "I know that you are tempted to go out looking for him yourself, but don't worry your father." At that, he pulled away. As he headed out the front door, he grabbed his jacket and the one that Toshiro had neglected to grab when he had stormed out.

The night was cold and he had the feeling that Toshiro was starting to feel the weather on his young body. Despite the fact that the white haired child had control over ice, he was subject to the extremes just like anyone else. Gin's step was quick and he paced himself to get to the places that the black haired twin had mentioned, hoping that his theory was right.

The first place he came to was the soccer field. Glancing around, he saw the lights shining down on the grass and the seats and knew that if Toshiro was there, he would have quickly found him. Letting out a deep sigh, he headed to the next spot, his hopes that the small taicho would be there. The part was also well lit.

He walked around, looking carefully through the park. The place wasn't very big and he eventually came to where the swings were. There, he saw a small figure sitting on the swing, staring at his feet. Letting out a deep sigh, Gin called out to the child, a smile on his face.. "Shiro-chan?"


	29. Broken

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Broken ~**

"I hate you. I hate the both of you." As Toshiro said these words, he couldn't help but note the shocked look on Rangiku's face, not to mention the high level of pain in her eyes. As he saw this look, he felt his stomach churning, knotting up due to the fact that he knew he didn't like that look. That said, he couldn't put his finger on why.

Stepping away from her, his mind focused on the fact that he wanted to get away from everyone. No matter which way he thought about the problem, it simply hurt. His hands went into his pockets and he focused on keeping his reiatsu in so _that_ woman wouldn't be able to find him. The last thing he wanted was to talk to her before Gin told her the truth.

Thinking carefully, he wondered if there was a place that Rangiku wouldn't be able to find him. Karakura Town was much smaller then the main area of Soul Society. She was the one person who had the knack of finding him though, when he tried to get away from everyone and everything. Somehow, she just knew. The dragon hummed in his mind. "_Perhaps this has to do with the fact that she is your mother?_"

"_You know that I don't want to hear it_." The small taicho snapped his words out mentally. "_I don't need any form of lecture from you. You haven't helped one bit in this situation, Hyorinmaru If you have any bright ideas on how to deal with those two idiots, then so be it. Until you give me a good idea of how to handle the situation, shut up._"

"_I personally understand lashing out at Matsumoto Rangiku on this issue, but why are you also lashing out at your father?_" The dragon sidled the words in. "_Is it really his fault that we now know where your stubborn streak comes from?_"

As his dragon said this, Toshiro rapped his arms around his body, shivering and watching as his breath came out as steam. "_Is any of this his fault? He didn't have to tell me the truth._" His mind tumbled around the idea, then came to another conclusion. "_He didn't do it to spite me. He did say he simply wanted to grant my Christmas Wish._"

At that, two teal eyes glanced up at the sky. "_This isn't turning out at all like I wanted it to. I imagined I would be disappointed in my parents for a different reason and that I could blame it all on me being a freak of nature and not wanted by anyone. I can accept something like that, but this just hurts more._"

At that point, Hitsugaya pushed all his thoughts to the back of his mind, trying to forget the pain he was feeling as he didn't like feeling this level of emotions. Feeling cold and numb in a way helped him to block everything. As he stared forward, his eyes containing a rather vacant look, a voice suddenly spoke up.

"Shiro-chan?" At that, Toshiro glanced up to see Ichimaru smiling at him. He wasn't sure what the man was thinking though, as he stepped forward, due to the fact that the small child had always seen a smile on the man's face, even when there wasn't a reason to do so. The man stepped over and behind Hitsugaya, hanging the jacket over the small shoulders. "Next time you decide to run off, wear the proper clothing."

"Does it really matter?" The boy spoke up, refusing to look at the man as he sat down in the other swing. He pulled the jacket on, thankful to have some warmth for his body.

"Are you trying to ask me if it matters if you remember your jacket, or are you trying to ask me if it matters if you take care of yourself." The man continued to smile as two teal eyes glanced up in surprise. The answer to the first is no, but the answer to the second is yes."

At that, Toshiro glanced forward and let out a deep sigh. "Is this you personally saying this, or is this you saying what you think I want to hear, or is this you saying what you think I need to hear, or is this something to get me to talk to Matsumoto because you're trying to get me to talk to her again and you're trying to convince me that she does care about me?"

It was Ichimaru's turn to let out a sigh. "I need to think about that question. However, you and I both know that Matsumoto cares about you and that isn't the problem between the two of you. You want her to acknowledge you as her son, end of story."

"Have you told her?" Two teal eyes glazed back over, indicating that the hurt wasn't going to be easy to break through.

"Not exactly." Gin glanced up at the sky, looking at the stars.

At that, the child turned his face towards the man, his eyes suddenly welling up. "That isn't fair! I know that she doesn't want to listen to you, but I _asked_ her... I asked her to just this once put away her hurt feelings. And yet you're trying to tell me she does care about me. It doesn't add up."

"I know it doesn't." Two pale eyes gave the boy a sympathetic look. "That said, I never said that she _doesn't_ know the truth now."

At that, Toshiro's face twisted up in bewilderment. "I don't understand."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense due to the fact you were _very_ adamant about _me_ being the one to tell her, but instead ended up telling her yourself." Ichimaru simply pushed on the swing slightly, not looking his son in the eye.

"I _didn't _say _anything._" The young voice quickly strained.

"It wasn't something you said, it was something you did." Gin paused for a few seconds in his swinging motion. "You should have believed me when I said Matsumoto would have understood the meaning behind that Christmas gift, _despite_ the fact you are still clueless about the _real_ meaning."

"It doesn't mean _love_ and _fidelity_?" Toshiro's face twisted in confusion.

"I told you, it had to do with the concept of birthstones. Topaz and turquoise represent December."

The man then watched as the child's face suddenly contorted with frustration. "_You_ could have told me that! You had fun playing a _game_ with my head, didn't you?"

At that, Gin suddenly snapped at the boy. "I gave you more credence then you possibly deserved, Toshiro. I honestly thought you would figure out the whole matter on your own." Two pale teal eyes watched as a different kind of hurt appeared on the boy's face. At that, Ichimaru opened his mouth. "Look, it isn't as if you couldn't have figured it out. I gave you the puzzle at the wrong time."

"Isn't a puzzle a game?" Hitsugaya shook his head.

At that, the man looked at the white haired youth, his smile faltering. "Puzzles are a type of game, yes. However, they are meant to stimulate ones progress mentally, to challenge one. They aren't the kind of game you hand to someone of too low of intellect. You like those strategy games, like Go don't you? That is what a puzzle is. I thought you would have known that."

Ichimaru received no response from the child taicho. After quite a bit of silence, he spoke up again. "You do know that you can have fun every so often, don't you?"

"How did you find me?" Toshiro asked, his head remaining down due to his mood.

At that, it was the older person's turn to remain silent. He then glanced away. "I asked Karin-chan. She knows you pretty well, doesn't she?"

"We've only met a few times. I don't know how she could." The small taicho's head suddenly raised up and he turned to look at his father.

The man glanced over, amused at the boy's statement. "I know that you feel comfortable around her to tell her that I'm your father. You didn't tell her because you felt you needed to, like you did with the Kuchiki girl. You did it because it felt all right to you, meaning the two of you are friends. You've never been attached to anyone friendship wise before, have you?"

The small boy simply didn't speak up and kept swinging slightly. Upon finding himself answered with silence again, he spoke up. "Why don't you have a bit of fun right now? Have you ever been on a swing before, making yourself fly up into the air?"

"I don't care." Toshiro stated, his face suddenly contorting with irritation.

"I'm wondering how it compares to flying with your Bankai. Of course, the only person who can answer that question is you." Gin pushed further.

At that, Hitsugaya turned to the man, his teal eyes filled with a high level of anger. "Just shut up about it! _I'm_ supposed to be the child here, not you and Matsumoto."

"Says the child who refuses to act like anything but an adult." Ichimaru paused his swinging finally. "Honestly, would you rather me use the logic I did, to try and interest you in for once enjoying yourself, or do you want me to flat out tell you that you inability to act your age makes me furious, angry."

At that, Toshiro became agitated. "Do you _think_ that is my fault? I've _never_ been allowed to act like a child, even when I was living with granny. I don't see the point of me changing that now and I don't see the point when I was just doing fine spending time helping her with her needs."

At that, Gin let out a deep size and stood up. "Shiro-chan, humor me for a little bit."

"I don't see why I should." The white haired youth muttered, having forgotten the fact that he had been upset with Matsumoto for a short period of time, his reiatsu flaring out for a short period of time. "And this isn't talking about what needs to be talked about, is it?"

"I said to humor me for a bit." Ichimaru moved to stand behind the small taicho and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I want you to hold onto the chains tightly."

"What are you doing?" Toshiro's voice tightened, not liking the fact that the man was simply doing what he wanted to do. His arms tightened around the links, not because he was wanting to comply with the man, but because he was nervous about the whole situation.

At that, Ichimaru's hands suddenly moved from the boy's shoulders and gently pushed on the boy's back. Hitsugaya found himself suddenly moving away from the man, going up into the air. His legs suddenly flailed and his heart pounded in his chest and things simply didn't go a way that either planed as the ride on the swing was rough.

Gin caught Toshiro under the shoulders as the boy came back up and the boy spluttered out in protest. "Are you trying to kill me, Ichimaru?"

At that, Ichimaru wrapped his arms around Toshiro's chest and his chin dipped down beside Toshiro's ear. "I wouldn't ever do anything that I feel would get you killed."

"You could have fooled me." The boy tensed up, then tried to pull away.

Ichimaru simply looked at the child. "I don't want you to run off anymore without telling someone where you are going, Shiro-chan."

"You know, you're one to talk." The boy's mouth twisted up, wanting to turn and leave. However, he knew full well the meaning behind that kind of action. "You were always running away instead of facing things head on."

"I know what I did was wrong. Do you honestly want to end up like me in this regard?" Gin then continued. "Truth of the matter is, you talk about things that will kill you and you were perfectly safe when I pushed you on the swing, maybe getting a scrape at most. You took off on Rangiku and I, not taking your jacket with you and you run the risk of getting sick."

Two white eyebrow's raised up and Toshiro's lip curled up slightly. "Yeah. You care about me. You're the one who said you don't even understand what love is."

"To you, what is love Toshiro?" Ichimaru suddenly piped up.

"Does it matter. I told you I don't know what it is, anymore then what it is." The boy stated, glancing at the ground.

"You must know what it is, since you've been looking for it, asking for it." Gin piped up.

"Love is where someone cares about someone unconditionally." Hitsugaya glanced at the ground.

However, Ichimaru's words suddenly caused the boy to look up. "Then I can say I do love you and your mother. There are things I don't understand, but I'd give my life to make sure that the two of you were alive."


	30. Soft Snow

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Soft Snow ~**

"...I'd give my life to make sure that the two of you were alive." Gin sated, watching as Toshiro suddenly looked up to him, his eyes going a bit wide. Slowly though, a smile spread across the child's face, while a few tears came down. In turn, Ichimaru found himself smiling at the boy. This stopped though, when snow began to softly fall down on the two of them.

The silver haired man's happiness quickly disappeared, knowing full well that the snow fall wasn't a natural kind. He also knew it wasn't being caused by the child in front of him. Carefully, he spoke up. "Shiro-chan, I want you to go find Rangiku."

At this, the child taicho suddenly blinked a couple of times. "I don't understand, is something the matter?"

At that, one of the lights suddenly flickered, and both pairs of teal eyes suddenly turned to see a woman dressed badly up on the pole. At that point, Ichimaru stepped in between the boy and her, while Toshiro stood up, knowing full well who the person was. "Do you honestly think that you can control me again? I won't let you touch him."

At that, the woman let out a sharp cackle and moved directly behind the silver haired man, her hand suddenly covering his eyes. "I'm not going to make the same mistake I made the last time." Stepping back and removing her hands, she simply smiled venomously. "I don't think I am going to have a problem with you now."

At that, Toshiro watched in shock as Gin's soul form was forced out of the gigai. His body trembled as he watched the man's eyes suddenly turn red, clouding over as the hollow mask suddenly began to form. He then watched as Gin moved to the resurrection stage, standing right in front of him, a vulpine with dripping jowls.

He could see a great deal of pain in the eyes, which caused the child's throat to chock back yelling and screaming, but his reiatsu flared out in panic. This time, the expression on was rather human, rather filled with emotion. And then, Gin's body returned to normal, collapsing to the ground in front of him. "Oto-san!"

At that, the two bright teal eyes suddenly turned to glare at the woman and he reached his hand in for the Soul Candy. Upon popping the piece into his mouth, he stepped away from his gigai. "Get him to safety."

At that, the woman let out a sound as if she were trying to admonish him. "You honestly haven't figured out what is going on here. However, that does explain why I couldn't control him earlier. You obviously have just found out, so while his bond with you is strong, the one you have with him is weak and can easily be broken."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Toshiro snapped the words out, reaching to his back to draw the sword upon his back.

It was at that point that Ichimaru's hand reached out and grabbed the female's ankle. "Shiro-chan, don't even think about fighting her." Gin raised himself weakly onto one elbow. "Get away from here now."

"I can't leave you." With that, the child raised his sword up to swing at her. However, before he could do this, he found his arm wrapped suddenly in ivy, his teal eyes going wide as he tried to pull away. They darted over to where the small girl was standing, simply looking at him with a blank expression on her face.

"You are going to leave him." The woman suddenly stepped over to the small child and waved a hand in front of his face, causing his eyes to suddenly cloud over. "Actually, you're coming with us. As I said before, your powers are unstable, so I won't force you to your highest point. However, I do want you to do somethings for me."

At that, she leaned over and whispered something into the child's ear. The ivy unwrapped from his wrist and the boy stepped forward, eying Gin. The tip of his blade then slid into the man's shoulder, cutting deeply and then he stepped back as the woman placed a hand on the boy's shoulder while Toshiro looked at him blankly. "I told you, while your bond with him is strong, the bond between the two of you isn't."

"Bitch!" Ichimaru glared at the female. "I am going to hunt you down and kill you for this."

"Yes, well your son will make a nice shield for me, won't it." The woman smiled at him. "Also, your son has a rather devastating ability to control the weather." She then wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders and leaned forward. "Now, Shiro-chan... that's what he called you, so you must like the name. Why don't you bring up a storm to cover our tracks?"

"Hai..."The response was monotone, empty of emotion. Despite this, Gin tried mustering the strength to stand up, only to be blasted by a sudden flurry of snow. When it died down, all three were gone.

"You Bitch! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to find you, and torture your body and make your life a living hell before I do so! But I'm going to kill you, mark my... words.." At that, the man felt his eyes rolling backwards into his head.

**M**

When Rangiku went looking for that child of hers, the first place she decided to look was up high. She jumped from roof to roof, but honestly couldn't find the child. She ran into both Rukia and Ichigo, who found themselves quite frustrated with the situation as well. It was then that the felt the small taicho's reiatsu fluctuate, from somewhere over by the park.

The three of them headed in that direction and were almost to the spot, when all three felt the small taicho's reiatsu clearly, as if he were fighting some sort of enemy. And then, the sudden gush of winter storm hit them. Despite that, they moved forward, trying to get to where Toshiro most likely happened to be.

And that was when they heard Gin yelling. "You Bitch! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to find you, and torture your body and make your life a living hell before I do so! But I'm going to kill you, mark my... words.."

Rangiku found herself rushing forward, just as the man collapsed into her arms. "Gin! Gin! Where's Toshiro? Where's our son?" She then paused, horror spreading across her fair features. "His reiatsu..."

At that, Rukia leaned in close to the man, frowning as she did so. "I thought his reiatsu was one of the highest amount the captains. It now feels like it is a fifth or sixth seat and its still dropping." The female paused, noticing the injury on the man's shoulder. "Matsumoto-san..."

At that, the female winced upon seeing the wound. "What the hell happened here. He could have taken on a lot stronger opponent, but..." Her bright blue eyes suddenly went wide. "It can't be."

"I didn't think so either." The small female shinigami shook her head, also rather frustrated with the finding.

"What's the matter?" The orange haired teenager glanced around. "And shouldn't Toshiro be here?"

"Ichigo... Hitsugaya Taicho caused this injury." Rukia stated, her mood rather grave.

"Toshiro?" Ichigo suddenly slashed his hand across the air. "Are you saying that he's gone rouge again? I know that he's mad at the two of you, but I would think he learned his lesson the last time. He also wouldn't go and hurt someone for some trivial thing like this."

"We have to wait until Gin comes back too." Rangiku stated, stooping down to lift the man up onto her arm.

As she supported him, she saw a tear fall down his cheek, and he mumbled something. "Shiro-chan... I'm sorry..."

At that, the female said what she thought straight out. "Something bad is going on. When that mess happened before Ichigo, I had a bad feeling too. It's the kind of feeling where you know your child is getting in over their head. This time... this time I feel like he is in serious danger and that something is really wrong."

At that, Ichigo let out a deep sigh and stooped down to scoop Ichimaru over his shoulder. "We'll get back to our place faster if I carry him. I'll call up my friends, while you two call up help from Soul Society. I also have a bad feeling."


	31. Gathering Storm

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Gathering Storm ~**

Glancing at her bedroom window, Karin waited apprehensively for everyone to come home. She couldn't push away the feeling that bad news would come home. Her eyes drifted over to Yuzu and saw that her sister had already fallen asleep. Letting out a sigh, the dark haired twin stood up and moved to the doorway and headed downstairs.

"You shouldn't go outside looking for him." Isshin stated from over at the couch as he stared at the television.

The small female glanced at the door and walked over to her father and sat down next to him. "Toshiro's oto-san already told me that. I wasn't planning on going out either. I can't sleep though."

"The kids tough, I'm sure he will be fine." Isshin stated, still watching the television, despite the fact the show was in truth rather childish.

"I still have a bad feeling. You wouldn't understand because you can't see ghosts and stuff, but that isn't the only thing that sets me apart from other kids. I don't like these feelings I have." Karin glanced at the ground.

At that, Isshin turned his head towards his small daughter. "What exactly do you like about him?"

"You might say that Toshiro is the first person that I've known who is around my age who can also see ghosts." The small female pulled her knees to her chest. "He also happens to have the same feeling as Ichi-nii. Actually, it is more then a feeling, but I can't explain it to you because you can't see ghosts."

At that, the man let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. "Are you talking about the fact that Toshiro and Ichigo both have shinigami abilities?"

At that, Karin blinked a couple of times, her eyes showing a great deal of disbelief. "You know what a shinigami is?"

"Yeah. I do." Isshin opened his eyes to look at the television, not really watching what was going on. "I think that you are going to find some things out about my past and you are going to honestly be mad at me for keeping them from you and your siblings."

"Are you telling me you used to be a shinigami?" The female preteen blinked a couple of times. Her father simply stared forward, not giving her an answer. "You were!" The black haired girl then stood up and pointed at the door. "If you have shinigami powers, why aren't you out there looking for Toshiro! What he did was stupid and he's putting himself in danger. You know very well that he is!"

"First off, I decided to be the person to stay behind in case Toshiro came back here. Second, my getting involved with looking for him might actually complicate the situation." Isshin took a deep breath, then turned off the television, standing up as he did so. "All of the ones looking for Toshiro should be back soon. I need to head upstairs so that a fire storm doesn't happen."

"Is Toshiro with them." Karin grabbed his sleeve, tugging on it.

At that, Isshin looked at her. Something in his eyes caused her to back down, as it was a look more serious then she had ever seen about him. However, she then glared at him, telling him that she expected an answer from him. "No. Toshiro isn't with them. Gin... you know him as Toshiro's father... something about his reiatsu is off."

"Is that bad?" The female persisted at the subject. "Ichi-nii never answers my questions. You're both hiding things, and that isn't fair."

"Ichimaru's rather strong." The man stated, watching the small female carefully. "You don't want me to leave, do you?"

"Are you... do you think you are strong enough to get Toshiro back?" At that point, Karin let go of his sleeve and turned away.

"Shiro-chan's a special friend to you?" Isshin let out a sigh and sat down, placing a hand on the top of her head. "I can't promise anything except that I'll do my best." He then gave her a smile. "If I stay, be prepared for finding out some stuff I think you would rather me tell you when I can sit down with you."

"I really need you to stay." The small female stated, as Isshin reached for the remote and turned the television back on. Not long after that, the two Kurosaki's heard the front door open. Karin quickly moved to a position where she was glancing over the back of the couch, her eyes filled with worry.

Ichigo walked into the room with Ichimaru slung over his shoulder. An orange eyebrow rose up upon seeing his small sister. "Shouldn't you be in bed Karin?"

"Toshiro isn't with you, is he?" The Kurosaki female frowned at those who stood in front of her.

At that, Isshin suddenly piped up. "I told you, Toshiro wasn't with them. I could sense that from here, that and the fact that Gin was out."

"That voice..." Rangiku's eyes suddenly went wide. "I know that voice."

There came a deep sigh, and the man suddenly stood up. "Of course you know this voice Ran-chan."

Matsumoto's reaction was rather quick. She found herself storming over to the man, then swinging her fist square into his jaw. A cracking sound could be heard, and Isshin tumbled backwards, onto the ground. He stared up at the ceiling, letting out a groan, while Karin suddenly stared at him in bewilderment.

"You! You're supposed to be dead!" Rangiku pointed a finger at the man, her face filled with fury. "Does taicho know that you're alive? Actually, do you know what kind of mental break down that child had when we all thought you died over twenty years ago? Do you know how long it took him to recover from that break down?"

At that, the eldest Kurosaki simply stood up, glaring at the woman. However, Karin spoke up, curiosity in her voice. "Matsumoto-san. You know my father?"

At that, the busty female blinked a couple of times, and then turned to look at Ichigo. "Shiba Isshin is your _father_?"

At that, the substitute shinigami blinked a couple of times. After a few minutes, he spoke up, his voice sounding rather dumbfounded. "Are you telling me that I am related to _Shiba Ganju_, of all people?"

"Well, it would explain why you look a lot like Kaien, except for the hair color." Rukia placed a hand on her chin, thinking about the situation.

Rangiku found herself blinking a couple of times. "I _hadn't_ noticed t he resemblance, but it actually is there."

"_What_ about Toshiro?" Karin piped up, glaring at the older people around her. "I don't care _who_ I'm related to and don't know about right now. What I want to know is how you guys are going to get him back."

Isshin stood up, rubbing his chin. "Ichigo, get Gin into the clinic. I'll be in there in a a bit to look him over. Rukia, call Soul Society and let them know that Hitsugaya Taicho has been taken by the enemy that took Gin before."

"How do you know that?" Rangiku blurted out the words, as she suddenly began to pace back and forth, her body tensing up.

"Because, there are similarities to what happened before." Isshin then shook his head and rephrased his order to Rukia. "Actually, tell them that we think he has been kidnapped by the same people who kidnapped Gin. We aren't sure if Gin had a hand in the kids disappearance."

At that, the small dark haired Kurosaki became irate. "Gin-san wouldn't hurt Toshiro! He's his father! He cares about him!"

At that, the busty female suddenly pulled the preteen female into her arms. "I've known Gin for a very long time, and even I can't be sure of that, Karin-chan."

"I'm positive. I am so positive that he does care about Toshiro." The small female felt a few tears roll down her cheeks. "Why the hell is this happening?"

At that, the doctor let out a deep sigh. "Rangiku, I honestly think that Gin cares about Toshiro and wouldn't want to harm that child unless he felt that he had to do so to protect Toshiro. I saw something a few days ago, which makes me feel this way."

He then headed towards the clinic to examine Gin. Matsumoto began to cry into the preteen child's shoulder. Karin glanced up. "Don't worry. My father's going to find Toshiro. He promised me he would do everything he can to get him back."

**M**

The room had a chill to it, due to the fact that the heating system had been long turned off. Even though they had retreated to an inner part of the old building, warmth was something hard to find. A woman with red lips stood at the doorway, staring out into the hallway. A look of boredom was maintained on her facial features.

Over in a corner, a white haired boy shivered, holding out his right arm. His breathing came with a raggedness and his eyes were dilated. His hand showed signs of a rash that had begun to heal, and another starting up. His once bright teal eyes stared at said hand as his body shivered and his breath came out in rough puffs.

Another child sat in front of him, eying him carefully, not saying a single word. Her knees were pulled up to her chest. She didn't even move when a mouse came scuttling between them, across the dirty floor of the building that they were using for their hideout. The mouse found a hole, and ran into it, taking with it meager findings.

Finally, the female moved from her spot and walked over to the boy. "Shiro-chan, how would you like to get revenge on that father of yours?" She knelt down, only to find that she wasn't getting a response from the child. She heard his breath coming out, and then in frustration slapped him hard across his cheek. "Were you even listening to me?"

"It hurts." The boy suddenly spoke up, a few tears welling in his eyes.

"Of course that hurt! I asked you if you want to get revenge on that father of yours." The woman let out a deep sigh.

At that, Toshiro raised up his left hand and pointed to his right. "It hurts."

"I think his hand hurts." Ivy spoke up, finally breaking her silence.

At that, the thin female grabbed his hands and pulled back the sleeve, revealing that a bad rash had actually begun. "I thought your vines were simply for restraining people."

"They are." The small girl stated, reaching her hand out to touch the rash. "At least, I think they are."

The male child flinched upon the touch and tried to pull away from the two females. However, the adult held onto his hand. She pointed to herself, and they the girl. "I am Holly, and this is Ivy. The names were chosen to be a pun off a Christmas song because we were created with the intentions of taking away hope of such seasons."

There came no response from the young male, his breathing still coming out roughly. Ivy turned to the older person. "I think he is sick and needs medicine."

At that, Holly found herself wincing, wishing suddenly that she didn't have children to help her, but instead actual adults. "_Adults are likely to turn on you, while children have an innocent trust._" At that, she smirked at the boy. "Look, Ivy and I are now your family. I hope you understand that, because tomorrow, we're going to get you some medicine. We're also going to make our presence known. Until then, you are to pretend that the pain doesn't exist."


	32. Misunderstanding

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Misunderstanding ~**

When Ichigo set Gin down on one of the best in the clinic, he glanced out the upstairs window in time to see a light snow fall snowing. He let out a deep sigh before heading back to the main house to see how his father and sister were doing with the two female shinigami in the room. He also wanted to be there when the other shinigami showed up.

He stepped into the room just as Isshin spoke up in defense of Ichimaru. The substitute shinigami blinked a couple of times, when Karin said something about a promise. Folding his arms across his chest, the orange haired shinigami spoke up. "I am not sure what is going on, but I'm also going to work on getting Toshiro back."

At that, Rangiku gave him a smile. "I know you are. Actually, I am really appreciative for some of the things you've done for taicho in the past. He thinks highly of you."

"Well, we are friends so of course I am going to look out for him." The younger Kurosaki male moved over to sit by his sister, flopping his arms across the back of the sofa. "Are we waiting for the others before we move out and look again."

At that, Rangiku opened her mouth in a round shape. "Well, I more of mean taicho looks up to you, like a brother figure. The only person who knows what happened is Ichimaru Gin, so we have to wait until he wakes up. We also will need to wait for the reinforcements we've called for."

"I'll get to work calling Chad and the others to see if they can keep an eye out for something." Ichigo stated as he headed over to the phone.

The room remained quiet while everyone waited, and finally Isshin turned to Karin. "You really should be getting to bed sweet heart."

"How do you know Toshiro and his mom." The question caught the man off guard and caused him to glance over at his son, who was making the last call.

Rangiku though bubbled over. "Your father was the taicho of the tenth division before taicho... I mean Toshiro was. Toshiro was the fukutaicho, and I was the third seat then."

Isshin glanced over at his son, who simply waved his hand as he hung up the phone. "I already knew that because Toshiro called you his taicho when he was half asleep still."

At that, the man patted Karin on the shoulder. "Bed. Now kiddo. If something happens, I'll be sure to tell you."

At that, Karin sulked upstairs towards her room, her eyes revealing that she was still not happy with everything that was going on. Ichigo then took the time to speak up. "My friends said they'll meet up at Urahara's as soon as they get some more sleep so that they can be filled in on any more details that we get."

As he said this, a knock came on the door and Rukia hurried over to the door, opening it up and greeting the people who came in. The first person who stepped into the room was Renji, who's mouth twisted up into a smirk. "So, Hitsugaya Taicho went and got himself kidnapped, despite the fact he likes to insist that he is not a kid."

"That isn't funny." A small feminine voice spoke up, a great deal of concern and worry in her voice. "Shiro-chan could be in serious trouble."

"Don't worry, Hinamori-san. We're going to find him and bring him home." Izuru said as he stepped in next to Momo.

The other person to step in next to him was Hisagi, who let out a deep breath of air. "What do we know so far."

At that, Isshin stood up, which caused Izuru's mouth to suddenly drop open as Momo's eyes went wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth. The blond haired man stuttered out his words. "You are..."

At that, Renji scratched his head, his mouth twisting up into a scowl. "I know this old geezer to be Kurosaki's old man. What does he have to do with this? Seriously Ichigo, I thought you would know better then to involve people who can't see ghosts."

"Well..." It was the orange haired shinigami's turn to suddenly scratch his head.

"I don't know this person as anyone's father." Momo spoke up, her voice trembling.

At that, Kira took the time to speak up. "Abarai... you don't understand. This man simply isn't just Kurosaki Ichigo's father."

"What do you mean?" At that, Renji glanced around, looking at everyone's either shocked, or rather amused faces. Glancing at Rukia and the hand she had clapped over her mouth to stifle the giggles, he spoke up again. "Seriously, does even Rukia know something I don't?"

At that, Hisagi spoke up, letting out a deep sound of irritation. "This man... this man used to be the taicho of the tenth division before Hitsugaya Taicho."

At that, the red headed shinigami suddenly found his jaw dropping as he pointed a finger at the man. Isshin however brushed the whole situation off and simply began to speak. "Don't worry. Yamamoto already knows that I am alive. I'm stepping up right now, because I want to get the kid back safely."

At that, Hinamori's hands suddenly clenched up into fists, and her lips pushed together in frustration. "Why? Why are you choosing to help now? You basically abandoned him before in the past, and then you ignored the fact that he was around your son? You're a monster, a bastard, a meanie..."

At that, both Kira and Hisagi clapped hands over her mouth. The fukutaicho of the ninth division shook his head. "Honestly Hinamori, this isn't the time for this."

"Well, I know that she's the same as always." Isshin scratched his head. "Haven't you learned by now, Momo-chan, that temper and stubbornness of yours just gets in the way and puts yourself and others into harms way?"

Before the small female could respond, there came a crashing sound from the clinic. This caused all of the shinigami, ex, substitute and regular, to suddenly turn their heads towards the direction of the sound. Ichigo moved forward. "I think Ichimaru just woke up."

At that, they eyes of the four fukutaicho who had arrived in the living world suddenly went wide. Renji and Shuhei suddenly hurried over to the door to the clinic and pushed it open hard. They quickly headed over to where they could feel the mild fluctuation of Ichimaru's reiatsu, Ichigo hot on their heels. They arrived up at the room that Ichigo had placed Gin in, and the substitute grabbed Renji's arm.

"Don't you _dare_ use your zampaktuo in here. This is my family's business and it is important to us." Ichigo snapped out, much to Renji's irritation.

The silver haired man was at the side of the bed, trying to lift himself up, but unable to do so. He was muttering something under his breath, his aura rather dark, despite also being weak. "I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill that woman."

At that, Shuhei pulled out his zampaktuo and placed it at Ichimaru's throat, his eyes also rather dark. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Rangiku are you? You wouldn't happen to have harmed or killed Hitsugaya Taicho."

Gin suddenly glowered at the man, one of his hands reaching up to touch the injury that had been caused by his son's blade. Despite his predicament, he choose not to speak about the matter at hand. Isshin though, shoved past Renji and gabbed Hissagi's hand. "We don't know that he's the enemy! Goodness know I don't think he is."

At that, the man with the numbers on his cheek pulled away, his movements showing that he was very reluctant to do so. "How can you trust this man?"

"Was Toshiro taken by that woman who took you before Gin?" The older Kurosaki asked, watching the man carefully.

At that, Ichimaru tried pulling himself up again, only to fall back to the ground. "I'm going to kill that bitch, Isshin. I'm going to strangle her and make sure that she never breaths again."

"Oi! You need to calm down. Simply answer my question." The eldest there groaned.

At that, Gin glared at the other males, his eyes rather murderous. "It was her. I'm going to get him back."

At that, Ichigo's father grabbed the other person and hoisted him into the bed. "You aren't going anywhere. Plus, we need you to fill us in on the details. Normally, your reactions actually show a sense of thinking things through."

At that, Gin glanced at the wall, not speaking. It was Renji though who spoke up. "What is so bad about this woman?"

"I suggest if you see her, don't hold back on attacking her despite your beliefs Abarai. Her powers are not to be messed with." The man stated, his eyes still staring at the wall. It was then that the others shoved into the room, only to get a dark look from Isshin.

"Look, I want Rangiku in here with me. I'm more likely to get answers from Gin if the people around him are ones that he has even the slightest inkling of trusting." The man stated, watching as the others slipped out of the room, except for Hinamori Momo. The man let out a deep sigh. "Hinamori, I'll talk to you as soon as I can give you a definite order."

At that, the small female started out of the room, a few tears starting up in her eyes, which caused Isshin to let out a deep sigh. "Look, someone needs to go and look for his gigai. It should be somewhere near the park. That's what you need to do."

At that, Rangiku went and sat down in the chair at the foot of Gin's bed. "What happened. This time around, I want the truth from you Gin."

At that, the man let out a sigh, his hand covering the wound that Toshiro had given him. "That woman has two different powers that you need to be aware of. She is able to control people at their fullest power level, and she is able to cause their power to completely drop. She also has a partner who attacks using ivy vines."

"And..." The woman folded her arms across her busty chest.

"The first time around, I was the person who was under her control and Shiro-chan was crashed. This time around it was reversed." Gin glanced at the wall. "Rangiku, how strong is your bond with our son?"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Matsumoto shook her head in confusion.

"The reason your boyfriend snapped out of her control before was because she told him to attack his own son." Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Gin refused her order, and then when she went to take her blade against Toshiro, well... Ichimaru received an injury from that."

"But what does this have to do with Taicho?" The woman began to play with her hair, her frustration growing.

At that, the silver haired man removed his hand from his shoulder. "Before she left with him, she had Toshiro attack me, to make it clear that our bond is weak and not enough to break him out, not to mention there might be some hurt feelings there." Gin then closed his eyes. "There is something else that you need to know."

"What?" Rangiku simply watched the man, her entire body tense.

"Those ivy things her partner uses. Shiro-chan is allergic to them and had a reaction before. She used the vines on him again. He's likely having another allergic reaction as we speak." Ichimaru stated, just as Isshin let out a curse.


	33. Oni Chan

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Oni-Chan ~**

A small figure huddled in the corner of the room, shivering due to the cold as he clutched his right hand. A small figure came into the room, smiling at him. "Holly says that the sun is rising, so we should leave now. She gave me instructions on what we're supposed to do. She wants you to make it snow as soon as we get to the place."

"Is aneki coming too?" The boy wrapped both arms around his shoulders as he continued to shiver.

At that, the small female paused, then moved her face closer to his face, their noses almost touching. "How come she gets that kind of name. What about me? Does Ivy get a nickname too?"

At that, the boy paused, his glazed eyes suddenly looking at the small girl. "Your name is Ivy... wouldn't that be something like Amazura in Japanese?"

At that, the girl pouted. "That's not a nickname. That is a name. If Holly is your aneki, then doesn't that make me your imoto?"

"Hai..." Toshiro's face twisted up in confusion, then shock as the small child suddenly lunged at him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she let out a happy giggle. For a few seconds, a light returned to his eyes, and then the registry of shock upon his face was gone.

It was then that Holly came into the room, her eyes suddenly narrowing at the site of the two of them. "What the hell is wrong with you two pervy kids?"

At that, the female walked over, and made to kick at Ivy, only to have Toshiro suddenly grab the young Arrancar and move his body between her. While his eyes were still dull, he glared at the woman, which caused her to let out a deep breath of frustration. "So... you are willing to protect someone younger and weaker from you from bullies? I'll have to keep that in mind. Both of you, get out there and do what you need to."

**M**

A few hours later, Ivy held onto Toshiro's hand as they walked down the sidewalk towards the destination, unnoticed by the living people around them. Eventually they came to a drug store, a different one then the one he and Gin had gone to earlier that week. Ivy would ever so often point out a Christmas decoration to him, a smile plastered on her face.

Finally, they came to the store, which wasn't yet opened. At that point, Toshiro turned towards the door, a blank expression on his face. The small shinigami drew his zampaktuo, and the snow began to fall down. He then spoke out the dragon's name, and suddenly the ice Dragon went smashing through the front, setting off an alarm.

At that, point Ivy simply stepped in as if nothing happened. "I want to get some candy. I've never had candy before, but I saw some other little kids talking about it. Do you want some candy?"

However, Hitsugaya didn't answer her, but went over to where the allergy pills were, not to mention the creme to place on the rash. His foot tapped some of the rubble out of the way and scooped up a few boxes, his breath ragged. Ivy, not liking to be ignored hurried over to where the bags were kept and brought one over to him.

"Please! Can I have some candy!" The girl stated, a pouting look on her face.

"Holly said we had to wait until the soul reapers get here before we leave. Do whatever you want to occupy yourself." However, there was a sudden pause and a flicker on his face. "Just be sure you don't hurt yourself. There is a lot of rubble around here."

The small female simply smiled and went around picking up items to put in her own bag. She bounced around the debris, looking at various things. Toshiro though went and leaned up against the shelving unit, letting is reiatsu flare out so that someone would feel the pressure and come running. Who ever was closest would receive the blunt of his attacks.

There came a suddenly sound as two shinigami landed outside of the drug store, glancing around as the small shinigami simply continued to lean up against the shelving unit, while Ivy continued to put things into her bad. The two were Hisagi and Kira fukutaicho, and both found their eyes going wide as they looked in at the mess.

Finally, Shuhei spoke up. "Hitsugaya Taicho. Why did you did you do this?"

"Holly said to do it." The boy stated, suddenly turning to face them, his voice still ragged due to the fact it was hard to breath. He began to walk towards them, his footsteps heavy. When he got close to them, both males placed their hands on their blades, not at all sure what to do about he situation, as they had been flat out told to do their best not to harm the small taicho.

Kira blinked a couple of times. "Holly said to do this? Who is this Holly person?"

At that, Ivy found a bag of chips to stick into her bag. "I think Holly is supposed to be the mommy."

"_Mommy?" _Hisagi stated. "Hitsugaya Taicho. Do you think of her as your mother? I mean..."

"Shut up! I don't want to listen!" At that, Toshiro clapped his hands over his ears. "I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing."

Kira listened as a coughing fit ensued, watching as the small taicho clapped a hand to his mouth due to the attack. He glanced at the boy's hand, and his eyes went wide as he noted the small taicho's right hand, which looked to have a painful rash all over it. "You aren't well. I can treat you, Hitsugaya Taicho."

This caused Toshiro to hold out the bag. "Medicine. This is what we came here for."

Shuhei found his words snapping out at the boy. "That _can't _be the only thing that you came here for!"

Two dulled down teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "I have to wait a bit. Holly had other instructions, and I can't do anything until a certain something happens. I can tell you though, she wants to destroy Karakura Town. She'll be starting up real soon."

Izuru let out a deep sigh. "We aren't going to let the two of you leave. You're coming back with us."

At that, Toshiro exchanged the bag to his left hand and held out the hand to Ivy, who came hurrying over with her own bags. "New game?"

"New game." Hitsugaya stated. "These two shinigami want to keep us here, but we need to leave."

Kira began muttering a kideo to bind the two children, only to have the small girl speak up. "Does that count as an attack on us?"

There came a nod from the white child's head and Ivy suddenly smiled, holding up her hand. Suddenly, ivy vines appeared around the two fukutaicho, catching them off guard, tangling them up. At that, both of the children moved, letting go of each others hands, moving towards the two shinigami, Izuru and Shuehei's eyes wide with confusion.

Ivy tapped Izuru on the head, while Toshiro swung his leg around hard into Hisagi's stomach. Both of the children then said in unison. "Tag. You're it."

Both took off in different directions, while the two shinigami looked at each other with confusion. Kira was the first to speak up, tangled up in the vines. "I swear, Hitsugaya Taicho had a smile on his face. I think who ever this Holly person is, she's convinced him that this is all a game."

"Including the destruction of Karakura Town?" Shuhei groaned.

At that, Izuru frowned. "Yeah. I think so." There was a pause as the two looked at each other. "Matsumoto isn't going to like to hear this, is she?"

"No... she's not."

**M**

Hinamori found herself where Toshiro had disappeared from, looking for the young shinigami's gigai. Her mind was preoccupied with the task, so she found herself not thinking about the situation. She knew full well that something was going on. Her foot steps fell lightly, and then she came to where a possible hiding spot was.

Peeking in, she spoke in a sing song voice. "Shiro-chan! Are you in there?"

At that, a small voice spoke up. "I'm not Shiro-chan. Where is Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"I'm supposed to bring you back with me to Kurosaki clinic." Momo stated, reaching her hand into the playground equipment and helping the soul candy that was in the gigai out. She then took his hand, which was very cold to the touch and pulled him along. She winced as she heard a sneeze coming from the boy's nose. "I think Isshin Taicho can make you feel better."

As she was walking along, she let out a deep sigh, knowing full well that she would rather be out looking for the actual person the gigai belonged to. She let him follow behind her, a wish that Shiro-chan would let her do this like they used to cropping up. However, as she was thinking this, she felt a sudden fluctuation of Toshiro's reiatsu.

She made to go in that direction, only to have the soul candy simply hold on, causing her to pause and turn towards him. "Are you going to leave me alone again?"

"_You were given an order, Hinamori-san._" This was her zampaktuo speaking up.

At that, she let out a sigh, just as her soul phone started to ring. She answered it. "Hello."

"_Are you still looking for his gigai? Don't respond to his reiatsu. Kira and Hisagi are close enough, and the others are closer still. Please come back to the house._" Isshin stated.

Momo blinked a couple of times. "You don't have a soul phone."

"_I got one from Urahara awhile ago._" Isshin stated.

The small female let out a deep sigh of frustration, then she began walking with the boy again. Eventually she got to the clinic and Rangiku hurried out, scooping up the gigai and carrying it inside, setting the boy onto the bed. "What are we going to do about the fact that it isn't Toshiro in the gigai? Aren't your daughters going to notice?"

A sneeze suddenly came from the gigai, and the man raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll give him some medicine to knock him out. Karin knows that something is going on."

"Umm..." Hinamori twiddled her fingers. "Is there something I can do?"

Rangiku glanced up, finally seeing that she was there. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to you being involved with the missions."

Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Why don't you sit with Gin? If he acts like he wants to go and try to help, tell me so I can sedate him. He is in no condition to be helping."


	34. Momo's Angst

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Momo's Angst~**

Ever since the incident with Aizen, Momo had felt as if she was being slighted, despite the fact she was a fukutaicho and thus should be able to perform the job just as well as anyone else with the same rank. Yet she found herself running around doing errands for other people, not really doing anything to help to find Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Having to go search for the gigai had been a big blow, but the major blow came when she was told to watch Ichimaru Gin. Momo was told to watch a man she disliked by another man she had a major dislike for. She felt she had kept her cool for the longest time, and then she found herself completely losing it, due to the unfair situation.

"I'm to watch _that_ monster?" The female snapped. Isshin choose to ignore her and went to work knocking out the small taicho's gigai so that no suspicion from Yuzu would wake up and come into the room. "In _case _you haven't noticed, that man happened to be one of the people who were traitors to Soul Society. It is _his_ fault that Aizen Taicho is _gone_."

At that, Isshin paused as he lay the small child down. He then finished and turned towards Hinamori. "Let me make this clear with you. It was _not _Gin's fault what happened to Aizen. It was Aizen's own fault. Do you really think you should still be calling that man taicho, when everyone knows full well the things he got up to."

"Don't act like you didn't go and betray everyone yourself." Momo snapped out her words, her cheeks suddenly puffing out in frustration.

A look of disgust spread on Rangiku's face, and she folded her arms across her chest. "Hinamori Fukutaicho, you shouldn't speak of things that you don't understand. Also, don't make accusations you can't back up."

"He left! I remember... I remember how upset Shiro-chan was when you disappeared. He lost it... he..." Momo bit her lip in frustration.

Rangiku's voice suddenly became louder. "I don't think it is your right to decide if taicho and I should be upset with him." There was a moment of silence as the smaller female glared at the older one. "It is also not your right to decide whether or not taicho and I are upset with Gin either."

"What does that have to do with anything!" Hinamori folded her arms across her chest, her frustration growing.

"A lot more then what you think." The woman snapped, just as the door to the room they were in suddenly opened.

"Dad... Yuzu says that she'll have breakfast ready soon." The small girl paused, seeing the small figure lying in the bed. She then glanced from Rangiku to the female she didn't recognize, and then back again. "More shinigami?"

"She can see me?" Momo blurted out, turning to look at Isshin with shock.

"She's my daughter. It is more surprising that one of my kids _can't _see hollows and shinigami, then the fact that they can't." Isshin stated, his arms folded across his chest.

Karin slipped into the room, quickly picking up that something wasn't right. "What is going on? Did something happen to Toshiro?"

"We still haven't found him. A few of the closest shinigami are checking out that reiatsu spike." Rangiku's face suddenly lit up, her dark mood suddenly disappearing. "Did you feel the change?"

"Yeah... I felt the change." Karin went and sat down on the edge of the bed, giving the brown haired female a strange look.

Momo though, blinked a couple of times and then turned on Rangiku. "Matsumoto! She isn't one of the Gotei Thirteen! Why are you telling her this stuff!" There was a small pause, and then before Rangiku could answer the question, she spoke up again. "And why the hell is she calling Shiro-chan by his first name!"

"Because I'm his _friend._" The small female stated, glaring at Hinamori intently. "I think the better question is, _why _are you calling him _Shiro-chan. _I mean, he isn't a little kid, and I know for a fact, he _hates_ it when people treat him like one."

"What would _you _know!" Hinamori spun around. "He and I grew up with each other as siblings. The only reason you're saying that he isn't a little kid is because your a little kid yourself and you don't think of yourself that way!"

"Hinamori!" Isshin and the eldest female in the room suddenly snapped out their words.

"But..." Momo stammered out, her eyes wide suddenly.

Karin though, stood up, her face close to being in Momo's. "I don't _care_ if Toshiro and you grew up as siblings. You _don't _act one bit like an older sibling should. From what I can see, it has been Toshiro whose been taking on that role, and how is that fare to him? You honestly need to grow up. I see that you have a badge like Matsumoto-san, but the truth is... if you are of the fukutaicho rank, you aren't acting like someone who deserves such a position."

A look of anger suddenly appeared on the younger shinigami female's face and she raised her hand up, only to have Rangiku grab her hand. "You and I need to talk. _Now_.

The female tugged the irate Hinamori from the room, and then shoved her to the wall. "The _only _reason I put up with the crap you give taicho is because I _want _him to solve his problems on his own, and I know that he wants to solve the problems between you on his own. If things get out of hand, I know full well he will come to get my help."

"We don't have problems!" Momo stated.

"_You_... you will _very _well let me finish speaking. The two of you _do _have major problems, and they come from your inability to not see the truth, because you are constantly living in the past and in this dream world of yours." Matsumoto snapped, her mood darkening. "You _really _crossed the line, when you _tried _to slap Karin back there."

"She mouthed off to me!" Hinamori leaned against the wall, her mood rather dark.

"She _told _you the truth. The truth no one has been wanting to tell you, because they don't want to hurt your feelings and as of late, we honestly don't know how you are going to take anything. That, and we don't want to hurt taicho's feelings about all of this. If taicho had been here..." Rangiku paused, placing a hand on the bridge of her nose.

She then took a deep breath and continued. "If taicho had been here, I think he would have finally have lost his temper with you."

"She's just a girl, a friend... I mean, she's not..." Momo shook her head, pausing suddenly.

"Not what?" Matsumoto backed up, folding he arms across her chest.

The girl's cheeks puffed out. "Shiro-chan is a little kid. He's too young to date."

"That isn't your decision to make." Rangiku stated, shaking her head at the other female.

"I'm his family!" Momo blurted out. "You're not!"

"You are really blind. Karin is right, taicho's taken on the role of older sibling. You don't have any respect for him, and you made that apparent to _someone _who hasn't yet _seen_ the two of you interact with each other. The honest truth is, once he admits he has feelings for Karin, then he'll be ready to date. You... you aren't ready."

"You can't go placing feelings on a person who aren't there Matsumoto!" Hinamori fumed.

"You are being hypocritical." The busty woman then grabbed the small female and shoved her into the room where Ichimaru was.

A pale teal eye opened up, as they came in. "Any news?"

"I don't want to have to watch him! I hate him!" Momo stated, continuing her tantrum.

"You aren't babysitting him, he's babysitting you. Because the honest truth is, I've had enough with the nonsense you are spouting off." The woman then turned to Gin. "Since you aren't well enough to help, you might as well do something by keeping _her _out of trouble."

Matsumoto then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Ichimaru pushed himself up on one arm. "What did you do this time?"

"I didn't do _anything_. Rangiku seems to think Shiro-chan has a crush on this stupid Karin person." The female stated, sitting down in a chair and sulking.

A deep sigh came from the man's chest. "He does have a crush on her. I've seen the way he acts around her."

"He's a little kid!" Momo muttered. "And she calls him by his first name."

"You're just overly jealous. You were jealous of how well he did at the academy, at the fact he became a fukutaicho before you, the fact he is a captain while you are not. You're also jealous that the little kid is able to act more maturely then you ever have." He then finished it up. "And now you are jealous of Karin because he's told you not to call him Shiro-chan, yet he lets her call him by his first name."

"I am not jealous! He's a little kid for crying out loud!"

Ichimaru simply lay back down, covering his eyes as his own frustration grew.

_Author's note – While I like Momo and the role she plays in Bleach, I've realized that Momo is a lot like Bella Swan from Twilight. The difference between the two is, Momo has stuff happen to her because of her immature behavior. There are consequences, and if Bleach continues, we'll either see her actually growing as a person, or getting into more trouble._


	35. Icy Pain

_Author's note – I had to hold off this chapter until I wrote chapter twenty of Baby Care Package_

**Christmas Nightmare  
~ Icy Pain~**

Two bright teal eyes watched the setting sun from the wooden porch. The boy's hands touched the familiar wood of his grandmother's home. A smile was upon the face as none of the other local children bothered or bullied him as he sat there. There was the feeling that something was missing but the boy couldn't put his finger on the issue. No, it felt like there was something he was forgetting more then anything.

Soft footsteps came from behind him causing the boy to suddenly sit up and look straight out. His head then turned to look at the small bare feet that were now standing next to him. His eyes glanced up at the pale haired figure that was grinning widely at him. "Amazura?"

The boy suddenly found himself wrapped in a hug by a small girl. "Onii-chan!"

A comfortable smile spread across the boy's face as he wrapped his arms around Amazura and pulled her into his lap. He was dressed in that old green kimono of his and she was dressed in an icy blue one. He pointed out to a small field by the house. "When spring comes we'll plant melon seeds. That way when summer gets here we'll have plenty of melon when it gets hot."

"Ehh..." The blond child glanced at the empty field. Her pale teal eyes were filled with laughter that made Toshiro feel comfortable. "I like melon. Will onii-chan teach Amazura to grow melons?"

"Of course! That is a promise." The boy let out a laugh before he glanced back up at the garden. "We can also sell melons. If we sell enough of the melons I can get you and granny something nice come Christmas time. I would like to get you each something nice of your own."

"What is Christmas?" Amazura began to swing her legs back and forth, enjoying the chance to sit in the boy's lap.

"Let's see." Two bright teal eyes glanced at the ceiling of the small wooden patio. "Christmas is the time that wishes are supposed to come true. It is about caring for others and those around you. Not to mention it is about showing other people love and kindness. That is what... I don't remember who told me that, but someone told me."

The boy felt a flash through his mind of the back of a woman's head. Her hair was beautiful strawberry blond curls. Toshiro found himself clapping a hand to the side of his head covering one of his eyes slightly in frustration. The small girl spoke up then. "Amazura's Christmas wish is for onee-chan's wish to come true. What is onii-chan's wish?"

Toshiro found himself suddenly frowning as he thought about the question. "My wish is... my wish is to know who our parents are."

"Oh." Glancing down caused him to look into the curious pale teal eyes of the small girl. "I think there is something hidden here..."

"Ehh?" The white haired boy glanced down at the girl as confusion spread across his face. As he glanced back up he suddenly saw a tall shadow in the setting sun. He carefully set the girl down onto the wooden porch. "Stay here Amazura. I'll be right back."

"Don't go!" A small hand reached out to grab his clothing but missed. "Onii-chan will get hurt if he goes that way."

Toshiro still headed towards the figure. When he went into the bright light he found himself holding his arms up in front of his eyes to block it. When he brought them down he found himself away from the house facing it from the direction of the village. He blinked a couple of times as he saw a small figure sitting on the porch swinging his legs back and forth.

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times before realization hit him of who the white haired child was. "Myself? I don't understand."

Frowning, Toshiro stepped a bit closer and examined the boy carefully. The clothing was horribly done much to his confusion. "Did granny ever dress me like this? I don't think she did, because she did well when I was ill."

A sound was heard suddenly from the path and his eyes darted up to see a shadowed figure coming down the path. This one was shorter though and seemed to be around his current height. A shuffling sound was heard from his side and he glanced down to suddenly see a small figure go hurtling forward at the shadowed figure.

"Otou-san, I dressed myself!" The small Toshiro cried out with a huge smile on his face. The words were that of a very young child.

The older Toshiro blinked a couple of times in wonderment. "_That's why my clothes were messy like that..._" However, something else clicked about what his younger self had said and he turned his head towards the man he was running towards. He found his jaw dropping when he saw a younger version of a person he knew very well. "Ichimaru?"

Two bright teal eyes watched as his younger self reached his hands up to the young man. "Otou-san? Up please?"

A feeling of dread suddenly filled the young boy's mind as he looked at the child desperately wanting his father's attention. "I'm not your father."

A breath of sound escaped the older Toshiro's lips as he heard this declaration. "_Ichimaru told me he was my father. No. It wasn't just that. Granny flat out told me that I was his child. She told Ukitake Taicho that Gin is my father._"

"Yes you are." The child's face twisted up and he suddenly latched onto the shinigami robes. The older Toshiro stepped backwards once, his head shaking.

"No... I'm not." The next thing the older Toshiro knew was his younger self was bawling his head off, his small head pressed into the man's chest.

"No..." The older white haired child continued to back up. "Why would you do this?" Toshiro felt himself suddenly shrinking and looking up at the younger version of the man he had come to know his father. He felt his lip begin to tremble and he turned on his heal and began to run as fast as his legs could go. He kept running until suddenly he found himself tripping and falling to the ground.

A rock came hurtling past his head and he glanced up to see the shadows of what seemed to be older boys from his village. He felt his body tremble and instinctively he covered his head and ducked down. He could hear voices around him calling out things.

"_He's the son of that monster._"

"_He's a monster. A demon. You all know why._"

"I wasn't born in soul society. I don't have..." Toshiro found himself biting his tongue. "I do have a father though." Two teal eyes watched as his hand gripped the dirt and a few tears fell down on top of his skin. "Why? Why am I so upset about this? I didn't know that Ichimaru was my father until recently."

"_But you did know._" The voice speaking to him wasn't Hyorinmaru but his own this time around.

"How could I have?" The boy clutched the ground tighter.

"_... I can say I do love you and your mother._" Why Ichimaru's words suddenly came running through his mind Toshiro didn't know.

One hand suddenly slammed down into the ground causing dust to fly up. "You're lying! If you loved us, why did you abandon us like this. Why?"

"Onee-chan?" A small voice came from behind him causing Toshiro to glance up to see Amazura. Two pale teal eyes were filled with worry.

Toshiro smiled at her. "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" The girl asked.

"_No. I'm not sure. But I shouldn't worry her about that._" The boy continued to smile. "I'm fine."


	36. Building Nightmare

_Author's note – I thought about editing this one a bit for grammar, but it's been over a year. Time to start updating again._

**Christmas Nightmare  
~Building Nightmare~**

Holly leaned against a crumbling wall, waiting for the two children to return. She let out an irritated sound. "Why do I honestly have to use two children for my stupid plan to work? It would be so much easier if that man just listened to me in the first place as that brat is a pain in the neck to control. What is taking them so long?"

It was at that moment that a head of white hair came around the corner, only to have Ivy burst from the doorway, spinning as she did so. "We got lots and lots of snacks Holly! Do you want any?"

The woman let out a deep sigh before reaching into the plastic bad and grabbed a pastry. She then glanced at the boy whose skin was pale as ice, fitting for someone with such a power. However, it was also rather obvious he wasn't doing well physically. "Take your medicine already. Do I really need to order you to do something like that?"

Toshiro picked up the packaging for the allergy pills. However, his hand shook and she simply grabbed it from him. Upon reading the instructions, she let out another sound of irritation. She grabbed one of the bottles of water that the two had managed to get and pried the boy's mouth open. She poured the liquid in, before shoving the pills in too.

The woman watched as two small hands reached up to clutch his throat. Holly placed a hand over his mouth. "No... you need to swallow it. The medicine is good for you." Her eyes watched as his Adam's Apple went down and she pulled her hand away, shaking it with disgust. She tilted her head over to the bags. "Why don't you go and get something to eat. The last thing I need is the two of you losing your energy."

She continued to mutter to herself, not paying the two children any mind. "Seriously though... Ivy was enough of a problem with her constant need for nourishment. One top of this she refuses to eat other Hollow. They aren't sweet enough she says. And him... well, of course a shinigami can't eat spirits."

Holly glanced down at the package. "May make a person drowsy, huh. Well, the plan can wait for a few more hours while he takes a nap."

"What can wait?" Toshiro's voice spoke up as he settled down into a corner.

"Never mind. Just take the medicine." The woman tossed it to him before walking of, her arms crossed as she continued to mutter to herself about how inconvenient the whole thing was and how she wanted to get the whole thing taken care of sooner rather then later.

**M**

The looks of amusement on the substitute shinigami's face did not lighten the mood of Hisagi and Kira as they were cut out of the ivy by Ichigo and Rukia. Eventually Renji showed up as well, only to shake his head at the two. "What did you two do to piss off Hitsugaya Taicho this time?"

"We didn't do anything you moron." Shuhei grumbled.

"Hitsugaya Taicho isn't himself. He seems to be... well, he kept muttering strange things." Kira glanced down.

"Like what?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"He was playing the keep away game with that little girl, where what was being kept away was the two of them." Shuhei dropped to the ground and rubbed his muscles. "His eyes were glazed over and he was smiling as if he was enjoying it. He also kicked me in the stomach and told me I was it."

Renji frowned, before shaking his head. "That's not like him. That isn't like him at all."

"What's worse is we're going to have to tell Matsumoto that he's turned traitor."

"No he hasn't."

"Ichigo..." Kira frowned.

"Doesn't him acting this way make you think that he's under that other woman's control."

"You mean that her powers are to control people?" Shuhei shook his head. "I don't like the fact that Hitsugaya Taicho is under her control any more then you do, but we may very well have to cut him down in order to save everyone else."

"I'll save everyone thank you very much." Ichigo snapped the words out before turning and leaving, his irritation growing. They followed them back to see that Isshin and Matsumoto were sitting at the kitchen table. "Whose with Gin?"

"Momo-chan is at this point." Isshin folded his arms. "How bad is her control of the kid?"

"It's to the point he thinks this is a game he's playing with us without any repercussions that will cause people to end up hurt." Hisagi sat down. "Anything else we need to know about those two?"

"If she's not boosting your powers and mind controlling you, she's causing your powers to tank to the point you collapse." Isshin then added something else in. "Also, Toshiro is allergic to those vines."

Rukia's eyes widened. "Then the reason they messed around with the drug store was so that they could get some medicine for him."

Isshin's frown deepened. "Very likely."

Ichigo glanced around. "Where are my sisters?"

"Yuzu is in her room. Karin said she had to run an errand."

**M**

Karin walked along the street with her hands in her pocket, her mind set to the particular task. She arrived at the sporting goods store and went in, the bell chiming as she opened the door. She went straight towards the soccer balls and picked up one which was white and black rather then black and any other colors.

She headed to the front register in time for the person to speak up. "Buying another soccer ball as your other has gone flat again?"

"No... I'm still doing fine. This is actually a Christmas present." The next stop was a small shop where she picked up some markers and a bag. She then headed down the street towards one of her friends house and knocked on the door.

"Karin? We can't play soccer outside if there is snow on the ground like this. Mom won't let me."

"No. Actually, I was wondering if you would help me with a present for Toshiro."

The boy's eyes suddenly brightened up. "Toshiro?" Then came the frown. "You never get me Christmas presents."

"I do get you birthday presents. Plus, Toshiro's a closer friend then you guys are and all of you know it. This isn't a Christmas present though. His birthday was a few days ago and it honestly was the worst birthday ever for him, so I figure we could cheer him up. I figure all of us could sign his soccer ball, and I might be able to get a few others who are at my house right now to sign it."

The boy glanced out at the clouds. "The weather's getting bad Karin, so you'll want to hurry with what you're doing."

Karin turned to look at the clouds as her friend signed the ball. "Strange... it wasn't supposed to snow today. I should be fine."

**M**

Holly came back, her irritation just as much as it had been before. She over heard the conversation between the two children and how they called each other siblings and how Toshiro said that he was fine. She found herself rolling her eyes and thinking to herself. "_As if we're family. Why either one would want family I don't know._"

A smirk then spread across her face. "_Well, if we're family that means I'm the abusive step-sister._"

The female headed in, only to become furious that the two were being so friendly. She stormed over and pulled the two apart, causing Ivy to tumble across the ground. Toshiro stood up to defend the small female, only to back down from a quick glare from Holly. "We have work to do. Toshiro, it's time to unleash that beautiful power of yours."

"We're going to be playing a game?"

"Yes... I want to see how deep Toshiro can make the streets with snow, not to mention how cold it can get."

"Yes..." The boy stood up.

"We just need to head to the particular spot."


End file.
